A Friend And Family Can Change Everything
by Newbie89
Summary: Years before Hogwarts Harry makes a friend. His very first friend. Their bond goes far beyond friendship if you had to guess you would say they are in fact brothers. One day Harry's friend sees his black eye and decides to do something about it. And everything changes.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is another version of my first story "A friend can change everything". I know that for those of you that have already read the original story will see an outrageous similarity that will only last for the first nine chapters or so. Now while I love my original story I had to take a hiatus due to being an actor and having alot on my plate. During my hiatus i had a lot of time to think about my story and how it was progressing. I found that the pairings as well as a few other decisions that i had made were not sitting well with me. And i must say that i currently only know of one of the pairings i will actually be using in this story. Harry's pairing is at this point undecided. I have narrowed it down to three choices but am leaning towards two of the choices in particular. I will be going through the chapters to fix any problems that I find as well.** **I would recommend any of you who have read my previous story to reread the chapters as there might be some changes here and there. I will of course let you know when there is the big changes start. I am quite new to writing. Please leave reviews with your views on the story. Please no flames. Constructive criticism is welcome. Enjoy the story.**

Chapter One

It was a cold stormy night in September as John and Maria Ashwood were driving down the lonely country road. John gave his wife a half smile. "Well this has got to be the worst driving weather ever." John said trying to lighten the mood. Maria had her eyes shut and her hands over her ears. Not that she would have been able to see much if she had her eyes open with how hard the rain was coming down. She was deathly afraid of storms like this. It had always been this way since she was a child. John knew he could never understand the fear but he would do whatever he could for his wife. A frown came over his face as he was looking over at her knowing he could do nothing now. He would just try to get home as soon as possible. The look of pure terror that came with every clash of thunder and bolt of lightning ate at John.

John let out a sigh and turned back to the road just as another lightning bolt lit up everything. Maria screamed. John immediately swerved to miss what was right in front of him. The car began to spin out on the muddy road. And went right into a ditch. "John! Did we hit it!?" Maria still screaming in panic and looking at the window toward the object lying in the road. Lightning lit up the area once again. That is when John and Maria saw what was in the middle of the road. It was a child's body.

"Oh My God! Maria it's a child! Stay here! I'll go get him!" John shouted over Maria's cries of surprise. John didn't even bother with the umbrella he just ran out. "Hey! Kid! Can you hear me?" John shouted in the raging storm. No one would be able to hear him but he just kept trying as he ran towards the kid. Trying his best to block the wind and pelting rain with his arms he started to think that this storm was purposefully trying to keep him away from this child. Well he would show the storm. Step by step inch by inch he got closer.

Back in the car Maria was in shock until she felt the rock of the car and noticed that her husband was no longer in the drivers seat. Normally the only thing in her mind would be to get away from all this noise but the thought of the child they almost hit drove that thought straight out of her mind and she dove into the back seat of the car to find the blankets that they had used earlier.

John had done it. He had finally reached the boy. God this rain sucked. John could only see a few feet in front of his face. John reached down and picked him up. 'God how much worse can this storm get' John thought as he reached down to pick the boy up. As soon as he picked him up John ran back to the car and handed the boy to Maria. Maria quickly took the boy and pulled him onto her lap. The moment she laid eyes on him she gasped. This boy could only be six or seven at the most. And what the hell was he doing out in this storm naked. She quickly started to dry the boy off with one of the blankets when she got a better look. The boy was turning blue. Maria immediately grabbed the boys neck looking for a pulse. It was there but faint. They needed to warm this boy up and fast and a blanket was most definitely not going to cut it. She started to take off her top. She looked at her husband who had just finished tossing his drenched coat into the backseat. "Keep drying him. As soon as I'm done taking this off hand him back to me. He is too cold we need to warm him up quick."

John understood and knew that his wife knew what she was doing. She was a police woman after all. So he started to dry off the boy as quick as he could. He wasn't quite done by the time his wife had finished undressing but warmth came before dryness. He quickly passed the boy to Maria and turned the heater on full. "Is he going to be alright?"

"I don't know. I just don't know." Maria said through sobs. " I think so but... he's so cold Jonathan." Maria was so scared for the boy. Johns eyes widened his wife rarely ever called him Jonathan and when she did it never was good. All he could do was watch as his wife wrapped her arms around the boy to try to bring him back from the cusp of hypothermia. After a few minutes John saw that his wife's breathing had slowed and her eyes had closed. She had been so frightened and then jumped into action to help that boy he was surprised she lasted as long as she had. He quietly turned off the interior lights and leaned his chair back and just watched the two in the passenger seat. Eventually he too succumbed to sleep.

The morning light shining through the window is what woke John up. He just looked around a little confused before the events of the previous evening came rushing back causing him to jolt upright. He got a loud hush for his trouble though. "He is still sleeping." Maria whispered to him. He couldn't help but notice the joyful smile that crept onto her face as she gazed back at the child in her lap.

"Here. You should put this back on." John said as he handed his wife her blouse. She gave him an amused look but accepted the blouse. It took her a little time to put it on without disturbing the boy. She then took the blanket and wrapped the boy in it being careful not to disturb him. John noticed that her smile just kept on getting brighter. John just couldn't help giving his wife a knowing smile. "I know that look." John said just a little bit sadly. Maria looked up at him with a questioning look that held a little bit too much innocence. "We can't keep him."

Maria's face changed immediately. "And why not? Look at him!" She hissed. "He was naked in the middle of the street dying for heavens sake!"

"Maria we have to try to find his parents. Wouldn't you want the same?" John asked.

"Any child of mine would not have been here in the first place!" Maria almost snarled. John knew he needed to proceed with caution when his wife got like this. Although he did have to agree with her about one thing. If they had a child he most certainly would not have been there. He couldn't imagine any parent that would allow that. "John..."

John started the car. Maria looked over at him. "Well we can't very well stay here. Let's go home. We can figure out what to do then. His wife's face instantly had a triumphant grin. God did John like that look and couldn't keep his own grin off his face. He stole a short glance at the boy. He was a good looking lad. He found himself thinking that if they could have had children...no. He needed to stop that line of thinking right there. Yes they wanted children especially Maria but a stray bullet put an end to those dreams a few years ago. He can still vividly remember that night when he got the call from the station that his wife had been taken to the hospital.

He sped all the way there only to find out there was nothing the doctors could tell him other than she was still in surgery. That was the worst night of his life. There were other officers there waiting for word. One of his wife's friends, Emily, took him aside and had him sit when it became apparent he was going to wear a hole in the floor. "John! John! Look at me! She is going to be fine!" She yelled but John didn't respond. SLAP

"What the hell!" John yelled but quieted almost immediately. "Emily, when did you get here?"

"Well I have been here the entire time. I was part of the operation after all." She answered.

"What Operation?" John was still a little out of it. "What are you talking about?"

"Bloody hell. Didn't they tell you what happened?" John just shook his head. "Well we got a tip about a drug house we have been trying to track down. We were the team sent to check it out. As bad as what I am about to say sounds please understand that this is our job." John just kept looking at her. "Well we went in and we found what we were looking for. And then what we weren't. The drug dealers were waiting for us and there was a fire fight. Eventually we overtook them and they are now in custody. But two of us didn't make it out alive. Maria is very lucky." John looked like he was about to blow up but Emily cut him off. "No! Listen, she could have died. It may not seem like it but Maria is very lucky to be alive. And I am sure she will stay that way. It was a belly wound. The bullet went through her vest and into her gut and it stayed there. The vest should have stopped it but at least it slowed it down enough so it didn't go through her." John just put his head in his hands and started crying. Emily stayed by him and did her best to comfort him but she felt just as bad. Emily couldn't help but think that if she did something different maybe her best friend wouldn't be in surgery right now.

About two hours later a bloodied surgeon strode out of the operating room. "Is there a Mr. Jonathan Ashwood here?"

John jumped up immediately and almost ran to the surgeon. "I'm Jonathan Ashwood. How is she? Is my wife alright?" The doctor looked as if he was searching for the right words but his silence was taking a toll on John. "God damn it! Tell me!"

"Mr. Ashwood please calm down your wife is alive but there were some complications. Please come with me." The surgeon then led John down the hall to a room. Inside was Maria lying on a bed with tubes everywhere. "Mr. Ashwood your wife will be fine. She is currently sedated and will wake up in a few hours. Unfortunately she was shot in the lower abdomen. The bullet grazed the small intestine and her Fallopian tubes. Do you understand what I am telling you?"

John was just happy that his wife was going to be okay. " Um, yes she is going to be okay. She got hit in the small intestine but what are Fallopian tubes?" The doctor gained a rather mournful look.

"Well the Fallopian tubes are connected to the ovaries and are a vital part of a woman's reproductive system." John did not like where this was going. " And they were torn to shreds so they had to be removed." No, please no "We also had to remove the ovaries as well. So I am afraid that" No don't say it. " she will not be able to bare children. I am so sorry."

John couldn't hold it in anymore everything that happened that night all just came crashing down on him. He ignored the tears in his eyes and the wrenching pain in his gut as he ran to his sleeping wife. He picked up her hand and pressed a kiss on its back. " Don't worry love it will be okay." John said tears streaming down his face as he started running a hand through his wife's hair. " It will all be okay love. So long as we have each other we will be okay." While John was tending to his sleeping wife he didn't hear the doctor close the door behind him to give the husband and wife some privacy. After a hour John cried himself to sleep. Still sitting in his chair he slumped forward onto the bed still clutching Maria's hand.

In the wee hours in the morning Maria's eyes fluttered open. A small moan escaped her lips as she looked around trying to get her bearings. The last thing she remembered was being pulled out of the drug house by Emily. 'Shit John isn't going to like this. I need to call him and let him know what happened and that I am alright before the station does.' she tried to pull the sheets down but her hand wouldn't move. It was firmly clasped in her husbands. He was asleep but still wouldn't let go. How she loved this man. Maria couldn't bring herself to wake her husband he had obviously been crying. Maria ran the fingers of her free hand through John's hair. Maria couldn't help but chuckle at the moan her menstruations had elicited. "God I love you John. And if you keep this up I always will." She couldn't help but smile at her still sleeping husband.

A few minutes later John arched his back and stretched finally letting go of his wife's hand. "I needed that." John's eyes popped open the moment he heard a giggling sound coming from the bed. " You're awake!" John nearly shouted before pulling his wife into a hug.

"I would quite agree that you did need that little nap of yours." Maria said through tears of joy. " I am so happy your here." It's true she needed him and here he was. 'He was always here for me and that is one of the many reasons I love him' she thought as a brilliant smile crossed over her face. Unfortunately John chose that time to move to pull her closer and aggravating her wound causing Maria to gasp in pain.

John quickly pulled away. "Oh my! I'm sorry love! Are you okay?" Maria gingerly laid back down and slowly nodded her head. "Should I get the doctor?"

"Oh no please don't. You know how I feel about doctors." John just gave her a knowing look. "Fine, go fetch your precious doctor. They will be in soon anyway now that I am awake." She grumbled as John just smiled at her. "Oh go on lets get this over with."

John got up and gave his wife an amused grin as he left her hospital room. He went right to the nurses station "Ah, excuse me but my wife has just woken up. If you could please send in the doctor it would be much appreciated." His wife might have something against doctors but he always got uneasy around nurses. They just never seemed to have a decent bedside manner. A shrift answer from the floor nurse later and he went back to the room. "Well your nurses seem... pleasant." Now he was receiving the knowing look. "Well they are no worse than any others. How is your stomach?"

"My stomach is empty." Maria grinned. "Care to find something to fill it?"

"Ha Ha" John said sarcastically I was talking about the hole in your belly."

"So was I." Maria just couldn't help herself. John finally gave in. If she felt good enough to screw with him she wasn't in pain. At least not a lot and the doctor was on the way anyhow.

"Maria um before the doctor gets here there is something I need to tell you." John paused as he looked into her eye's. God he didn't want to tell her. Hell he didn't want it to be true but the sooner she knew the better. "The bullet...well it" just then the doctor walked in.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Ashwood I am Dr. Longfellow. How are you feeling this morning?"

"I'm rather hungry actually." Maria said then she noticed the dumbfounded look on her husbands face. "What? I told you I was hungry." John just rolled his eyes with a chuckle.

The doctor joined in with a chuckle of his own. Maria even started thinking this doctor might be alright. "Well that is certainly good to hear. Sometimes the sedative causes nausea, obviously not the case this time." Longfellow said with a smile. "Your breakfast should be up soon. I do have some things to talk to you both about though." He then turned to John "Did you happen to tell your wife about what we talked about last night?"

"I was actually about to when you walked in."

"I see. Well Mrs. Ashwood I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that you will make a healthy recovery."

"And the bad news?" Maria asked in a quavering voice. John immediately went to her side and grabbed her hand. He wrapped his other arm around his wife giving her his support.

"The bullet did some serious damage while inside you. Now you will recover even recover enough to go back on duty if you so wished. However the bullet did some serious damage to your Fallopian tubes."

Maria's eyes flew wide "No" She barely made any noise. "Please no." Maria couldn't believe what was happening. She loved her job and her husband but the one thing she wanted more than anything was a family and children of her own. Now she couldn't. Both her and Jonathan had always wanted a family but they had decided to wait until she retired in a few years. Now that family would never happen.

"I am afraid so. I am so sorry."

Maria was done. She just broke down and held onto John crying into his shoulder.

That was assuredly the worst day of his life. To see his wife so lost. John pulled himself out of his thoughts just as they pulled into the driveway. "Here we are. I can't believe he is still asleep. Why don't take him upstairs and put him in bed. I'll see if I can borrow some clothes from the Thompsons. I will start breakfast when I get back." Getting a nod from Maria he started to back out of the driveway again. Most of the time it is convenient living in the country this just isn't one of them.

Maria had just put the boy in bed and was heading downstairs. "Back already?"

John was in the kitchen cooking. " It is only about a minutes drive." He replied with a grin. "You know I was thinking maybe we could help out the police by fostering him here until his parents are found." Seeing the appalled look on his wife's face he quickly headed her off. "Now listen we can't keep him here. You used to be a police officer you know the law. We have to try to find his parents or guardians as the case maybe."

"But" Maria started looking quite distraught but she was once again cut off.

"But nothing Maria. You know the law." John took a deep breath before continuing. " However once they are found there is nothing saying we cannot press charges against them for obvious negligence and probable abuse. Once charges are established we can ask the courts for temporary custody on the grounds that you are an ex-cop and we did take him in. And then perhaps if things go well, which they will with your testimony against them, we can pursue adoption." John finished with a sly smile just before he bit into a slice of bacon. Maria on the other hand couldn't stop the brilliant smile on her face she just ran and tackled him to the ground and gave him the most amazing kiss that showed him exactly how she felt about the plan.

"You are such a sneaky bastard and I love you for it!" Maria kisses him again and again.

"Well it is my job. I am a magician after all." laughed John. "Now how about some breakfast."

 **A/N: Hope you liked it. I will be updating about once a week. But who knows maybe more. Feel free to pm me.**


	2. Chapter 2: YES!

**A/N: So here is chapter 2. Enjoy and please remember to review.**

Jonathan was standing over the sink cleaning up breakfast when Maria came back down the stairs. "So how is the boy doing?" he asked

"He isn't really talking at the moment. He doesn't seem scared it's more like he's confused. But at least he doesn't seem injured." Maria said with a forced smile. "I mean he kind of kept the bed between us when he woke up so I just left the clothes on the bed and told him there was food when he was ready to come down." Maria couldn't help but let a tear slip down her cheek.

John hurriedly put the pan down and went to wrap his arms around his wife, "Look at it from his point of view. He just woke up in a strange bed in a strange house with strange people. What did you expect his reaction to be. Remember he was asleep during everything that happened. And to be honest he might have amnesia. After all what good thing could lead to the position we found him in last night?" John said comfortingly as he gave his wife a small squeeze.

"Your right I'm just overreacting. That's all." She said with a small smile as she leaned into him. "I'm sure he will be down soon enough. He has to be hungry after all. Where is it by the way?"

John just pointed to the kitchen table. "Right there love. It will stay warm for a little while. At least long enough for the boy to make his way down here I'm sure." Just as John finished his sentence a thumping could be heard coming down the stairs. "Speak of the devil" at that John and Maria just chuckled. It didn't take long for the boy to make his way to the kitchen. The couple had to hold in their laughter at what they were seeing. The boy was literally following his nose to the kitchen sniffing every couple of steps. "Hey there." John said startling the boy. The boy looked over to see John hugging his wife from behind just looking at him with a grin on his face. After a few seconds apparently their little starring match was over because the boy pointed to the plate of food and then back to himself. "Yep that plate is all yours buddy." The boy immediately sat down at the table and started stuffing himself with plateful of food. "Oi slow down there, slick, the food isn't going anywhere." The boy just looked up at him and nodded. 'Well' John thought 'at least I got a nod this time.' "Would you mind if we sat down?" The boy shook his head. "Go ahead love I'll grab us some tea and the kid some orange juice."

As her husband went off to the fridge Maria went and sat down across from the boy. "So do you like the food?" She got an enthusiastic nod as a response and just had to smile." My husband can definitely cook that's for sure. Good thing too because I'm worthless in the kitchen. My name is Maria by the way. What's yours?" She got a shake of the head. 'Well that's disheartening' she thought. "Is there a reason you won't tell me?" A nod. "Can you tell me the reason?" A nod. "Well what is the reason?" The boy then pointed at his bangers and mash. "Because your eating?" A nod. 'Well at least he has an excuse for not talking now.' still she couldn't help thinking that she was beginning to like this kid and his cheek. "Try not to eat to fast or you might get the hiccups." It didn't matter though he kept right on going. Well that is until he did indeed get the hiccups.

"You should listen to her. Maria is pretty smart after all. " John said while depositing a large glass of orange juice in front of the kid and gave his wife an adoring look. "We aren't going to take it away from you, you know." John told him with a wink as he took the seat next to his wife. That seemed to get through to the lad and he started to eat a little slower, if only just. And there the threesome sat in a companionable silence waiting for the little one to finish eating while the adults enjoyed their morning tea. Eventually the boy finished and finish he did, not even a crumb was left nor drop of orange juice. "Well why don't you two chat while I clean up." John said reaching for the plate and glass. "It's one of my many chores. Beware of Maria, she is a slave driver. How will I ever lift this plate." John told the boy winking and making a spectacle of himself trying to lift the dishes. That is until Maria slapped his leg playfully. "See what did I tell you. I better get going before she gets the whip!" John laughed with another wink which elicited a chuckle and smile from the boy, the first that they have seen. "You're up." he whispered to his wife as he headed to the sink.

Maria just stared at her husband in disbelief. How did he do it. He was a bloody natural with the lad. Every time she had even tried to talk to him the best she got out of him was a nod and in comes her husband and makes the kid laugh and smile. That was it she obviously would need lessons. Unfortunately the teacher was busy washing dishes. Well here goes nothing, "So can you tell me your name now?" She asked with the smile she could not keep off her face when the boy was around.

"My name is Merlyn."

"Merlyn?" The boy, Merlyn, nodded. 'Oh boy John is going to freak!' Maria thought to herself. "Merlyn is a very nice name. Do you have a last name?" Merlyn just shrugged. 'We are back to this are we?' Maria thought shaking her head. "You don't know if you have a last name?" A nod. "What is the last thing you remember before waking up here?" A shake of the head. "You don't remember anything before waking up?" A nod. Oh dear, what are we going to do. "Merlyn why don't you wait here I'll get you some orange juice. Would you like that?"

"Yes, please." Merlyn answered with a wavering voice.

Maria just beamed at him. A minute later Merlyn had another large glass of orange juice and Maria was in the kitchen with her husband. "John...what do we do? He has amnesia. He can't even remember his last name. What could those horrible guardians of his have done to cause this?" Maria was crying thinking of all the possible things that were done to this boy. "Oh when I get my hands on them prison time will be the least of their worries." Maria was practically snarling by the end.

John could tell she was ready to go on the warpath. He wrapped her up in his arms "Love listen to me. They will get whats coming to them. But for now our focus needs to be Merlyn. First and foremost we need to take him to a doctor. While we do that why don't you call your friends down at the station and get the ball rolling."

With both John's talk and some calming breaths she finally came back to herself. "You're right. So let's get started. I'm sure Merlyn has finish his orange juice my now." She said as a smile started to work its way back onto her face. They made their way back to the boy. "Merlyn did you enjoy your juice?"

Merlyn nodded but then added "I have never had it before. It was very good. Thank you."

Maria was stunned for two reasons. First that was the most Merlyn had ever said to either of them, and second how could someone never have had orange juice! "Well when we get back you can have some more. Would you like that?" A nod. 'Baby steps' Maria thought. "Right now we are going to take you to a doctor to make sure you are alright." As soon as she uttered the word doctor Merlyn froze. "Whats wrong? Do you not like doctors?" Merlyn vigorously shook his head. 'Well at least we are alike in more ways then just being cheeky' Maria thought. "I don't like doctors either. But we will be with you the entire time. Okay? We won't let anyone hurt you. Can you trust me?" Maria asked while kneeling down to get on his level. Merlyn just nodded slowly and then gingerly reached out and gently took Maria's hand. Maria squeezed his hand gently and stood up leading the boy to the car. She wiped tears of joy from her eyes. What is going on. This boy is making her so emotional. Is this what it means to be a mother? She was so busy trying to sort things out that she didn't notice John watching the entire scene from the kitchen doorway with a giant smile on his face.

John was ecstatic with the new turn of events. Merlyn was talking to Maria, and even held her hand. He had never seen Maria look as happy as she had the moment the boy touched her hand. Without further thought John picked up the phone and dialed for the police station.

The phone rang a few times but soon an operator picked up. "Hello, Westminster station. How may I direct your call?"

"I would like to talk to Captain Stalks please." John replied.

"Very well. Please stay on the line."

"Hello, this is Captain Stalks. To whom am I speaking?" The voice was all irritated business.

"Hey Emily, it's John."

"John!" The irritation and business was gone from her voice and replaced by joy. "My god man, how are you? How's Maria? It's been so long. Maybe we should get together for drinks..." Emily started rambling after hearing from her old friend.

As much as John would like to chit chat there was a purpose to the call. "Em...Em...Emily!" Finally she stopped talking. John really did like her but she could ramble. "Em something happened last night." He heard her breath hitch. "No we're fine. But we found a young boy. He seems to have amnesia so we are taking him to the doctors to get him checked out. Can you meet us at Dr. Samson's please?"

"Oh my... of course I will. Let me look through missing persons to see if there is anyone reported missing."

"Alright we will see you soon." John then hung up the phone and headed out to the car.

At the car Maria was having a rather interesting time with Merlyn. "Come on now it is perfectly safe." Merlyn just shook his head and pointed at Maria. "I'm safe?" She was a little confused now but received a nod. "You feel safe with me?" An excited nod followed that one. A small tear escaped as she bit her lip and felt a warm glow spread through her. "Well then where do you want to sit?" Merlyn just pointed to Maria and then to the front seat. "You want to sit with me?" A vigorous nod. "Alright lets get settled then." This would be a little awkward but Maria couldn't be happier with the seating arrangements. And Merlyn felt safe with her. She had to be honest that felt good. No, more than good, amazing. After a little bit of careful maneuvering she found herself buckled in with the adorable little boy.

John closed the door and locked it behind him. When he turned around the sight that greeted him made him laugh. There was Maria trying to fit the boy, Merlyn, on her lap. John walked over to the car. By the time he got there everything seemed sorted out with the two in the front seat looking rather content. "Comfortable are we?" John asked in a playful tone.

"Hey don't look at me." Maria pointed at Merlyn who was in her lap all curled up against her. "It was the kids idea."

"You don't seem to mind" John returned playfully. Maria just huffed and turned her head away, but John noticed her gently squeeze the boy on her lap. Once again John couldn't help but laugh at his wife's playfulness. He loved it when she was this way. She would only play like this when she was happy, which he wished she always was. Just as they were leaving the driveway John remembered Emily. "Love, Emily is going to meet us at the doctors. She is looking into missing persons for us now. She will probably bring someone from child services too now that I think about it."

"Oh I forgot all about calling." Maria said shocked and a little disapointed. "I'm sorry John."

"Don't worry about it you had your hands full at the time...Still do as a matter of fact." John laughed with a wink. Maria joined in shortly after.

Merlyn just looked up at the couple as a smile graced his face. Merlyn might not have any memory but he did know one thing, he really liked these people. With that thought he curled up in Maria's lap. And with her arms around him fell asleep. What seemed all to soon he felt a hand on his shoulder waking him up. "Hmm."

"Wake up little man." Came Johns voice. "I know your tired and if it were up to Maria I don't think you would ever leave her lap, but we need to go see the doctor." John noticed Merlyn squeeze his wife at the mention of doctor. He looked at his wife who mouthed that Merlyn didn't like doctors. 'Oh dear lord another one.' John mouthed back only to receive a disapproving look from Maria. "Alright, alright I give." John shouldn't have but he smiled. He just loved her pouty faces. "We do need to get in though. The doc" John started but stopped at the look his wife gave him "um...we have an appointment after all." he wisely finished. "Come on." John said as he helped extract Merlyn from the car. The moment Merlyn was out of the car he quickly grabbed John's hand and the very moment it became available he grabbed Maria's as well. The husband and wife gave each other a quick look with a smile and then gazed down at Merlyn. The threesome quickly made their way into the doctor's office.

The couple decided that they would all stay together. A decision made due to the fact that Merlyn refused to let go of their hands. That fact also made filling out the question sheet a little difficult. So John held the clip board while Maria filled it out. They just sat in the waiting room until the nurse came to get them. The wait wasn't so bad though they did have Merlyn after all. Eventually the nurse did come and get them. She showed them into an examination room. The room was rather plain but Dr. Abrams, who turned out to be a rather portly man, arrived soon after so it didn't really matter.

"I'm sorry, I know you were expecting Dr. Samson but he isn't in today. So who do we have here?" Dr. Abrams asked in a rather jovial voice. Merlyn quickly hid behind Maria.

"I am sorry doctor," John apologized, "Merlyn does not seem to be a very big fan of doctors."

"I see well I will do my best to change his mind. Why don't I start with this." the doctor said as he pulled a sucker from his shirt pocket. Merlyn just looked up at John and Maria who nodded at him. Merlyn gingerly reached out and grabbed the sucker and quickly retreated. "There see that, I am not so bad am I?" He then turned to who he assumed were the parents. "So Mr. and Mrs. ..."

"Ashwood" Maria supplied.

"Ashwood. Well Mr. and Mrs. Ashwood what brings your son here?"

"Well he is not exactly our son," began John until he was interrupted by a "Yet!" from Maria. John just gave a small smile as he continued. "Well let me start at the beginning last ni..." John was interrupted yet again except that this time it was by a knock on the door. A nurse popped her head into the room.

"Excuse me doctor but there is a police officer asking to see the Ashwoods." the nurse announced. The doctor looked at the Ashwoods with shock and some weariness on his face. However his look changed to one of confusion when he heard Mr. Ashwood speak.

"Oh that must be Emily. Can you bring her to the examination room please." John said. The doctor seemed to relax, "I told her to meet us here. I hope that is alright?"

"Of course. I am just not used to police officers asking for my patients." The doctor tried to laugh it off.

There was a knock on the door and in popped Emily Stalks. "Emily!" Maria squealed "How are you?" she made to get up but a tug on her arm kept her down. She looked down and saw Merlyn hiding behind her even more than before. It must be all these new people. "It's alright Merlyn, this is Emily. A very good friend of mine. She just came to say hello. Why don't you say hello?" Merlyn slowly came out from behind Maria and started toward Emily. Maria felt another tug and realized that she was apparently going as well. "Emily meet Merlyn."

"Hello Merlyn." Emily said getting down on a knee. "How are you?" A nod was all she got as an answer. "I see. Do you like Mr. and Mrs. Ashwood?" This time there was no nod instead he turned and hugged Maria's leg. Maria's face instantly lit up. "I'll take that as a yes." Emily said with a bit of a giggle. She knew that Maria wanted children more than anything. Especially as she was there that fateful night. Just then watching Maria run her fingers through the boy's hair did she realize exactly how much her best friend wanted children.

"Maria why don't you stay here while I go into the hall with Emily. It is getting a little crowded in here." John said nodding toward Merlyn who seemed to be feeling a little claustrophobic. Maria nodded and gave him a swift kiss. Just as the door was closing behind John he heard his wife say "Let me start at the beginning..."

"Thanks for getting here so quickly Emily." John said as he gave her a hug. "This has all been quite a whirlwind for us. If you can imagine."

Emily laughed at that. "Yes I can imagine so don't you worry about it. But I was able to pull a few strings, and of course my position comes with a few perks. Anyways I have some good news, there are no missing persons reports that fit Merlyn's description." John looked a little puzzled. "Which means that he is now under the purview of child services." John was a liitle startled. He had not prepared for this eventuality. He thought he would have had more time. Now Merlyn might be taken by the government and sent to some home. He needed a plan and needed it now and he knew it. "So like I said my rank comes with some perks as well as a favor I called in. I am now Merlyn's case worker." She said with a conspiratorial smile. John's mind went blank. WHAT?!

"What does this mean?" John asked trying not to sound too excited in case he was wrong. 'Please don't let me be wrong!' John thought.

"What it means is that I have responsibility of making sure that any home young Merlyn is apart of is a good one." She could see the gears in John's mind working and had to bite her lip to keep herself from smiling. She was about to continue when the door to the exam room opened making John jump. Out came the doctor followed by a somber Maria and an impassive Merlyn holding Maria's hand.

John took a few deep breaths to calm down before turning to Maria. "So" began John clearing his head, "what did the doctor have to say?" he didn't like the look on Maria's face.

"Well there are a couple of things that could have caused the amnesia. One is a blow to the head but the doctor said that it was unlikely after he gave Merlyn's head a quick look. The second would be trauma. John.." Maria couldn't continue she just started crying into his shoulder for the umpteenth time today it seemed. It didn't matter John new exactly what she was thinking. How could anyone do something so horrible to a little boy. Especially such an adorable one. John rubbed her back. It took a few minutes but she eventually calmed down. But this time it was mostly due to Merlyn pulling her down to give her a hug. After that Maria just couldn't cry anymore. She just picked up the boy and held him for a while. Maria put him down and wiped her eyes clear of all tears with a smile.

"Wow!" Emily breathed. "What happened to you?"

"Well.." Maria said with a shrug, "Merlyn just has that effect on me it seems." Maria gave a quick laugh while smiles adorned the faces of her best friend and husband. "So?" She asked with one last sniffle coupled with a chuckle. "What news do you bring?"

"Well, we have no idea who Merlyn is or who his guardian's were." Emily told her. Maria's head popped up.

"Wait, were?" She asked her best friend hoping this meant what she thought it did. Emily just looked at Maria with a smile on her face.

"Yes, were. With my new rank and a few favors I have been made this lad's caseworker." Emiliy smiled as she tortured her friend. Maria was practically bouncing with anticipation. "Now normally we have to wait to see if the child and perspective parents are a good fit." Maria took a sharp breath at 'parents', " But as I am the caseworker and I can cut through red tape like butter." John and Maria were both holding their breath. "How would you two like to become parents?"

Both John and Maria opened their mouths and said, "YES!" Maria bent down and immediately picked up Merlyn and pulled him into a hug. Her eye's then popped wide open, she immediately set Merlyn down again. Merlyn had a large grin on his face. He was really liking these hugs. "Honey, we have a very important question to ask you." She looked up at her husband getting an encouraging nod. "How would you like to come live with us?"

Merlyn only hesitated for a moment before shouting out "YES!"

 **A/N: Well i hope you enjoyed it. I wonder how many of you thought that the boy was Harry. Don't worry this is not a Merlyn centric story this is a protagonist centric story. Which means all the protagonists get their spot in the light. So don't worry.**

 **As always please review and let me know what you think.**

 **Until next time.**


	3. Chapter 3: Frozen

**A/N: Hello everyone. I hope you enjoy and please review to tell me what you think.**

When John and Maria heard Merlyn's answer they scooped him up and brought him into a heartfelt embrace. "Welcome to the family Merlyn Ashwood." John said to his new son while Maria was giving Merlyn's cheek a kiss.

As her friends fawned over their new soon to be son. Emily just stood there close to tears watching her two best friends. After a few minutes she realized that this was not precisely the most appropriate venue for a celebration. "Hey look I like a good party as much as the next gal, however don't you think that the middle of the doctor's office is a rather strange place to have it?" She pointed out to her friends. "How about we head back to your place. I've got all the papers with me in the car so we can take care of everything tonight." Emily told them. 'God they fit together perfectly. Maybe I should think about settling down soon." She thought to herself after seeing their happiness. "Come on group we are blocking traffic." She laughed as she lead the way out.

The ride home was a rather entertaining affair, what with Maria preening over Merlyn the entire way, Saying things like "You are so handsome" and "You will be such an amazing man just like your father". To be honest John couldn't help but feel a little proud at some of the things his wife mentioned. After about twenty minutes they made it home. Although two of the passengers hadn't notice. It wasn't until John opened the passenger side door and gave a little cough that both Maria and Merlyn came out of their revelry. "Well come on you two." John said. "Let's get cooking. Tonight we party!" Maria just smiled while Merlyn started to pull both his new parents to their house.

Emily watched them take off in their car smiling and laughing. "You know, I never thought of myself as family woman, however after watching them I am seriously considering it." she thought out loud and she did...for about ten seconds. 'Nah, I'm a cop, we don't do family. Well I better get going. I don't want to be late for the party. Speaking of which no party is complete without a cake." Emily bit her lip. She was on a diet after all. 'Ah, screw it!'

The new family was now in the kitchen of their home. John was getting pots and pans going on the stove while Maria was perusing the fridge trying to decide what they would be having. Merlyn was carefully observing his new parents from his seat on the island counter top his legs swinging off the side.

"I have an idea. Merlyn, why don't you pick dinner? What would you like?" Maria asked. Merlyn just pointed to the top shelf. Maria followed his finger to, surprise surprise, the orange juice. Maria just laughed. "Okay okay, I think even I can cook that." The statement got John's attention and it seemed as though he was about to protest that particular statement, as there was nothing his wife could cook. The rebuttal died with an understanding chuck as she took the container of orange juice out of the fridge. "Honey, I just had a thought. Why don't you make one of your amazing pizzas. Hmm? Please." Maria asked taking a break from pouring and put all her concentration on giving her husband her best puppy dog eyes.

John couldn't help but to surrender to the power of his wife's eyes. "Alright alright, turn the eyes off. I'll make some pizza."

Now an hour later there was a made from scratch pizza in the oven. Now normally when John made pizza the kitchen got a little messy. This time however it looked like a disaster area. Not only was there flour all over the counter, cabinets, and floor but also all over the Ashwoods as well. With the pizza in the oven it was time to clean up. Maria took Merlyn upstairs to get him cleaned up and into some clean clothes as well. Just as Jonathan was going to start cleaning the kitchen the doorbell rang.

At the sound of the of the bell John looked up toward the door. 'Ah it must be Emily.' He thought. "Finally." As he made his way to the door John caught the sight of himself in a mirror. ' Wow that is a lot of flower. But this does provide me with a singular opportunity.' John thought grinning maniacally towards the door. 'This should be fun. Hehehe." John then crept to the door and opened it at quickly as he could while shouting "BOO!" but before he could even finish the "OO" he found a gun pointed right at his face. "Whoa! Note to self. Never try to scare a cop." John gulped out. "Please don't shoot me Em." John said with a slight quiver in his voice.

"God damn it John! What the hell is wrong with you? And...what happened to your face?" Emily started in on John just as soon as she had recovered enough to start breathing again.

"Too many things. And his would be flour." John answered with a smile now that the gun was out of his face and safely back in it's holster.

"What? Did you just crush the great dinner rebellion of 1986?" Emily said with a laugh. John joined in a second later.

"Not exactly we had family bonding while making pizza."

"Ooh. Pizza! Sweet I LOVE your pizza! But for now come with me to the car I need your help with the cake."

"A cake? Em you didn't have to pick up a cake. Especially after everything you have already done for us today. And besides didn't Maria tell me you are on a diet"

"Not tonight I'm not! Now grab the bloody thing and lets go inside before you scare away the real ghosts." Emily said with a smirk.

"Yea yea. Lets get inside you can help me clean the kitchen." John replied. "With you helping me we might actually have a shot at getting it clean by the time Maria finishes with Merlyn."

"You know" Emily said thoughtfully, "the kid's name is Merlyn and you are a magician. How weird is that?"

"I know." John chuckled. "Normally I would be ecstatic at just meeting someone with the name but I am afraid that with everything that has happened... I guess I have just been a little overwhelmed." John added with a sigh. This day had felt like a week. And it had taken its toll on him. The only thing that kept him from passing out was the thought of his son. 'My son.' Lord above it felt good to say that. 'I am a father.' with that thought came a spring in his step and enough energy to light up the city of London.

"Holly Shit!" Emily said wide eyed when she walked into the kitchen. "What the hell!.It looks like a flour bomb went off in here!"

"Nope. Just Maria, Merlyn and I having fun while cooking."

"Please tell me the pizza survived. After I help you clean this mess up I had better be getting some pizza. And your pizza mind you. Not any of that frozen shit they sell at the market."

"Not to worry the pizza survived." Said maria from the kitchen entrance. "Merlyn is taking a bath." She answered her husbands unspoken question. "So finally decided to show up did you?" Maria asked her best friend. "You should have been here for the great pizza making Auntie Em. Where did you go anyway?"

"Auntie Em?" Emily mimicked with distaste, "No absolutely not I am not some old coot in a tornado. Aunt Emily has a nice ring to it though. And for your information I had to get the cake since you two were otherwise occupied. So there!"

"Oh! Thank you for getting us a cake. I mean obviously I can't let you have any because of your diet but I will make sure to tell you how good it is."

"Don't even think about standing between me and my..." The two women kept on bickering right on into the living room. Leaving poor John to clean the kitchen.

So with a soft sigh he got started on the counter tops. He only just finished with them when the timer for the pizza went off. 'Well I guess I'll finish later." John thought. When John looked up he laughed and realized that he should have started with the floor. As right in front of him was a sopping wet Merlyn. The kid hadn't even bothered with a towel. "Hungry are we?" Merlyn nodded vigerously. "Well you have to wait until the pizza cools down. It is too hot to eat right now." Merlyn just gave John his best puppy eyes. "Hey come on." John said as he put the steaming pizza on the counter to cool. "Let's get you dried up. Once we finish we can have some pizza." Just like that Merlyn ran back upstairs. 'Man that kid moves fast.' John thought. When he was half way up the stairs he was met by the sight of a damp, but not drenched he had to admit, Merlyn. "Not quite good enough kiddo. Lets get you actually dry." Merlyn just gave him a look that screamed "Come on! Please!". "I promise you get the first piece of pizza. Okay?" Merlyn sighed and gave his new father a nod.

Maria and Emily were having a laugh in the living room. They had spent the last ten minutes signing all the paperwork, and now enjoying a nice glass of Merlot. That is until they heard the timer go off. "Oh boy." Emily said licking her lips. "Pizza time!"

"Oh come on Em. Aren't you overreacting a little?" Maria asked while following her friend into the kitchen.

"Don't you give me that! I'm not married to the Michelangelo of the kitchen! So I don't get to eat his food every night!" Emily stated as she glared at her friend.

Maria couldn't exactly disagree with her. She herself had in fact suggested that John open a restaurant rather than continue as a magician. But he did what he loved. He always said cooking was relaxing and if he became a chef it would start being a chore. Maria couldn't really complain considering she still got to eat it. In fact here in front of her was one of his best dishes, the glorious pizza. She was just about to pick up a slice of her husbands work of art when she felt a tug on her arm. When she looked down there was Merlyn shaking his head. "What I can't have pizza?" Maria asked giving him a playful pout. Merlyn just shocked her by shaking his head.

"I promised him the first slice." came John's voice from the stairway. A look of comprehension appeared on Maria's face.

"Well, a promise is a promise. Come on time to pick your slice." Maria said as she picked Merlyn up and set him on her lap. "Which one?" Merlin pointed and Maria got his pizza for him. When Merlyn took his first bite his face just lit up. He looked like he was in heaven. He didn't even mind when every one laughed at his reaction, instead he took another big bite. The party continued with a lot of laughs and plans about what they were going to do about a room for Merlyn. They decided that he would sleep with them until the transformed the spare room. Now the partiers are seated on the couch. The three adults have wine while Merlyn opted for orange juice.

After a little while of companionable silence John spoke up. "So who is up for some cake?" John said while looking right at his boy. Merlyn's eyes went wide and a large smile appeared on his face. "I'll take that as a yes." John put his glass on the table and went to grab the cake. John unpacked the cake and grabbed a knife and plates and headed back to the living room. "Alright I hope you like choco..." That is as far as he got before he tripped sending everything flying. The cake, the plates, and the...knife! Everyone was in shock as they watched everything as though it happened in slow motion. Plates going everywhere, the cake falling to the floor, and the knife...heading right for Maria. The closer it got the slower time seemed to tick by until...

"NO!" and everything froze!

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

 **Once again please review.**

 **Until next time.**


	4. Chapter 4: Fire

**A/N: I hope you like the chapter. Enjoy.**

Merlyn was enjoying himself. Here he was sitting on the couch in between his two favorite people. 'My new mom and dad.' he reminded himself. He just smiled at that thought. He was sure he never had a family before because there was no way he would ever forget something that felt so wonderful. And as if that wasn't enough he had a large glass of his new favorite drink, orange juice. He wasn't sure what an orange was but it sure had some good juice. A short time later his dad got up and asked "So who's up for some cake?" Merlyn didn't know what cake was but if his dad made it he definitely wanted some so nodded emphatically. His dad then left for the kitchen and returned a few minutes later with plates, a cake, and a knife. That's when it happened. His father tripped and sent everything flying. The cake went one way, the plates another, but the knife went right for his mom. Time seemed to slow down for Merlyn. All over his body he could feel a tingling sensation. And right as the knife was about to hit he let it all go as if on instinct. "NO!" and everything froze!.

Merlyn had no idea what was going on. Everything just froze and that tingling was more intense. But that didn't matter if the tingling is what is keeping that knife from his mom he would keep it up forever. Just after that thought he saw her slide down the wall in shock. "Mom!" Merlyn shouted as he ran to her. The moment he moved the knife continued on its path and sank into the wall. Merlyn didn't notice nor did he care about some stupid knife all that mattered was that his mom was alright. "Mom!" he cried out again as he reached her and hugged her and started crying into her chest.

Maria was dumbfounded. She looked up when she heard the thud above her and saw the knife in the wall. Then all of a sudden her little boy was hugging her and crying. What was a mom to do, "Hey sweetie, its alright. I'm fine look, not a scratch on me." She was trying her best but this was still new to her and obviously it wasn't helping her son. "Don't worry I'm not going anywhere." This seemed to get through to him and he looked up at her with bloodshot eyes.

"I don't want you to leave. I want you to stay." Merlyn got out through his tears. "Your my mom." He went back to hugging her and crying into her chest.

John had finally gotten over his shock and ran over to his wife and son. He could not believe what he just saw but now was not the time to be thinking about it. His wife and son needed him. Immediately he checked that his wife was alright. Once satisfied the three of them just sat on the floor huddling together trying to calm down. After who knows how long John felt a tall glass of wine placed in his hand. He didn't even look to see who handed it to him. John numbly downed the wine. Once he finished he noticed Maria had a glass of her own and wasn't far behind him. That much wine ingested as quickly as it was was already having an effect. It was a good thing too because he had a son to sooth and he didn't need to be hysterical for that. He immediately started to try to coax his son from his death grip on Maria. "Merlyn, son, " He put his hand on Merlyn's back, "your mom is fine. Take a look." He pulled his son back just enough so he could see that his mom was alright.

Merlyn looked at his mom. She did seem okay, and she was smiling down at him so she must be alright. He just couldn't stop himself from latching onto her. He needed her, and he needed her to be safe. He just cried and cried, eventually sweet unconsciousness engulfed him.

John decided that after what just happened sleep was indeed the best medicine here. He helped his wife to her feet, which turned out to be a little awkward as she we carrying Merlyn. "Love are you alright?" John whispered into his wife's ear. She just nodded back. It appeared as though Merlyn had cried himself to sleep, and Maria didn't want to wake him. "Why don't you take him upstairs he will sleep with us tonight." Maria just gave him a nod and a chaste kiss. 'Come up soon.' she mouthed to John. John just smile and gave her a nod.

As soon as they were out of sight John turned to Emily. "Emily what just...how..." everything just came crashing down on John and he could barely stand let alone think. He was trying his damnedest to sort out what happened but he wasn't thinking straight.

"John" Emily said soothingly as she walked over to him. "Breathe, slowly. Calm down. I don't think we should talk right now. Why don't you go up to bed, hmm. We will talk in the morning."

"Em, would you please stay the night. I can..."

"Hush, I'll stay on the couch I know where everything is." She went to the kitchen real quick to fetch something a little stronger than wine. She came back with a bottle of scotch and two glasses. She poured them each a serving. "Throw it back." Emily instructed as she downed hers. John complied. "There now we can sit here and sip until your calm enough to go up there and not wake either of them. Lord knows they need their sleep." With Merlyn asleep surely Maria would be right behind him, after all she used to be a cop and had been in dangerous situations before. Maria knew how to ride the adrenalin rush, her husband however was another story. He was shaking something fierce. So there the two sat in silence just drinking for the next hour or so until John could breathe smoothly once again. He was reaching for a refill when Emily stopped him. "I think that's enough for the both of us. Time for bed John." She helped John up the stairs, into his room, and onto the bed. She then looked down at the family, husband and wife with their son in the middle. If it wasn't for what almost happened she would call this a picture perfect moment. Emily quietly left the room and shut the door. She didn't even bother to make up the couch she just laid down and passed out.

As Maria's eyes fluttered open she glanced over at the clock. Oh dear its already ten. It was then that she remember the events of the previous night. She quickly turned back to her son and remembered the look on his face. No she did not want to see that look on her son's face again. She decided that she would just lay back down until her son woke up. All she had to do was look at the beautiful boy next to her and realize that he truly was her son, which brought on a smile. Her smile grew even wider and more brilliant when she remembered that last night her son had called her mom. Maria brought his sleeping form close and just held him.

John woke up soon after and saw his wife holding their child. He smiled at his wife and laid a hand on his son's head being careful not to wake him. "I need to go downstairs. Emily spent the night on the couch. Once he wakes up bring him down and I will start breakfast." After giving Maria a quick kiss John left her and his son to head downstairs. He found Emily still asleep on the couch. 'Well first things first. Time to put the kettle on.' John thought to himself. Once the builders tea was ready John took the pot and two cups into the living room. The smell of the tea seemed to do the trick of waking Emily up.

To say that Emily Stalks was not a morning person would be the understatement of the century. She detests mornings. It is a damn good thing that John knew her favored tea or he would be in trouble. The fact that he also knew her routine was a plus as well. When she was on her fourth cup of tea John finally felt it was safe to talk to her. "Morning."

"Morning. I do love builders tea. Sometimes I think you keep it around just for me." Emily said with a little mirth.

"We do." John replied with an equal amount. "Em, do you recall what happened last night? Everything about it I mean."

"I don't think I will ever forget it. So what did happen?" John just looked at her incredulously. "No, I mean how did it happen? It was a miracle no doubt about that, but how?"

"I don't know how, however I think I know who did it." John said looking pensive. Emily's eyes widened as if to scream "WHO!?" John took a deep breath before breathing out "Merlyn. Everything seemed to halt when he shouted, and then when he moved everything...well...resumed is probably the best word for it." Emily nodded as this matched up with what she remembered. At least she wasn't crazy.

"So...How?" Emily quietly asked.

"I don't know. I've been thinking about it since it happened. Hell I dreamed about it. Usually when I see something like this it is an illusion. And of course soon after I figure out how it is done. The problem is that there is no way in hell that this was an illusion. The knife kept going after it stopped. I can think of no way that any of it is possible." John was thinking at a hundred miles an hour. Rolling from one explanation to the next. "Maybe it was magic." John said in an exasperated whisper while Emily just gave him one of her looks. "Okay then, how do you explain it?"

"I can't but that doesn't mean it's magic."

"Em I have traveled all over the world and seen so many wondrous things. I have seen things that you wouldn't believe. Look Em I know it sounds insane. I wouldn't be saying this if I didn't truly believe it." John said pleadingly. He had been searching for true, honest to god magic. Now he had witnessed his son performing it.

"I'm afraid I am still a skeptic John."

"I know and I am not going to jump to conclusions. But we can talk to him today and figure out what happened. Give me that at least."

"Alright, I will admit that I am rather curious. Not to mention grateful." Emily said with a soft laugh.

John joined in the laughter. He to was quite thankful for whatever it was that happened. His wife was alright and for that he would be forever grateful. He decided to put a pause on this particular conversation for now. It was about time for breakfast anyway so John headed for the kitchen when...squish. 'Oh bugger.' John thought as he looked down. There was the cake that went flying last night. He had forgotten all about it. Oh well, "Hey Emily do you think you could clean this cake up and throw it out?"

"Sure but you better make me extra bacon for breakfast." Emily jibed. 'Sweet breakfast a la John, this is so my lucky day.' she thought until she saw the cake. 'Bugger'

After about ten minutes the smell of a Jonathan Ashwood breakfast started to steep through the house. Soon the smells permeated every nook and cranny. Which seemed to be the key to waking up sleeping beauty. Merlyn sat up so suddenly that Maria had to hold back a shriek. When Merlyn saw his mom there all the memories from last night bombarded him, though he had already lived through the experience the memories still jarred him. "Mom?" Merlyn asked softly while moving his hands over her to make sure she really was okay.

"Hey baby." Maria replied. "Hey look at me." She said lifting his chin so that their eye's met. "I'm fine honey. You don't have to worry okay? Besides from the smell I think your dad has just finished cooking breakfast." Maria stated with a smile trying to get her son's mind off of what happened. As she was getting off the bed she added "Maybe we should..." Maria stopped when she turned around and saw an empty room. 'Well looks like John's cooking has done it again. I swear there is just something magical about it.'

The moment he heard that his dad was cooking that was it for Merlyn. He jumped out of bed and ran to the kitchen. When he got there he saw his dad with a pan and some slices of meat. Boy did it smell good. Merlyn just hoped that he was indeed almost done like his mother said. Merlyn just climbed up onto a stool next to the island and watched, 'Smells so good. Please be done soon.' by this time his mouth had almost started watering at the smell. Merlyn didn't even notice that Emily had taken a seat next to him and had joined him in staring hungrily at the contents of the pan.

Maria entered the kitchen to seeing both Merlyn and Emily starring at a cooking John. She just walked up and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Good morning love." She got a peck on the lips as a response before she scurried out of the way. One of the rules in the kitchen is that if John is cooking you stay out of the way. She learned early on that the food was totally worth that rule. So she went over and poured herself a cup of tea. Builders tea by the smell of it. She then grabbed a glass from the cupboard and paused. 'Hmm, I didn't realize routines could get ingrained this fast. Maybe motherhood won't be to hard to get used to after all.' She then stole a look at Merlyn, 'And even if it was it would still be worth it.' Maria thought to herself, smiling as she got her son some orange juice.

Soon everyone was sitting at the table eating a delicious breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast, fruit, and even more bacon. Emily and Merlyn were digging in with gusto. Maria however had eaten Johns cooking every night for years now so she was immune to the temptation to stuff her face...well most of the time anyway. They all ate in silence, sort of. Merlyn and Emily were eating so much that it was hard not to make noise. John and Maria were simply glad to eat and enjoy the show.

It always amazed John how much people seemed to like his cooking. Growing up he never seemed to like anyone's cooking and so taught himself how to do it. Maria notified him that he would forever be the official chef of their relationship roughly two weeks after they started dating when he first cooked for her. He had made a simple picnic with fried chicken, potato salad, coleslaw, fruit salad, ham, sausage, salmon, and of course cake. After all they had only been dating for two weeks and John liked to cover his bases. And in his opinion it was well worth the effort. He gave his wife a smile as he remembered being told that he was the chef right after she took her first bite of chicken.

After a good breakfast everyone retired to the living room for a much needed discussion about the previous night. The family all sat on the couch while Emily took the chair.

"So..." John tried but was not exactly sure how to begin this particular conversation.

"Oh grow some balls." Emily said to John and was about to continue but she got hissed out by an irate Maria.

"Emily!" Maria hissed while covering Merlyn's ears.

Whoops. Emily's eyes widened a bit. "Sorry. I'm not used to having the little guy around yet. But I must say those mothering instincts you've been displaying are going into overdrive don't you think?" Emily asked a little amused.

"I'm just making up for lost time." Maria retorted.

"Well whatever. Maria uncover Merlyn's ears please." John said. "We need to talk about what happened last night. Or more specifically when the knife..." John choked up a little thinking about just how close his wife had been to getting hurt... or worse. "was about to... um... but then it and everything else stopped."

"Well my vote is for miracle and leave it at that." Emily said resolute.

"I just don't know. I mean I was a little preoccupied at the time. But I would be willing to call it a miracle though." said Maria weakly.

Merlyn just stayed silent and stared at his feet. John noticed this and decided it was time to talk to Merlyn about what he did. 'It was him I'm sure of it.' John thought. "Merlyn, son?" Merlyn looked up at his father with a sheepish look on his face. "Son, I want you to tell me the truth. Did you stop the knife?"

Merlyn stayed silent and started starring at his feet again. Everyone was quiet and looking at him. "I don't know." Merlyn said sheepishly. "I think so. I just didn't want mom to be hurt. I was scarred." he tried to explain. Merlyn was beginning to get worried when no one said anything. Then he was being engulfed by a hug from his parents.

"You did such a wonderful thing last night son. Thank you for saving your mom." John said with a tear in his eye. Maria and John continued to fuss over their son while Emily just watched from the chair. She wasn't going to discount anything but magic is a bit much to swallow. After about half an hour everyone was in much better spirits with everything out in the open. The tension that no one noticed was there lifted and everyone seemed to breathe easier.

"Alright John, you win so the kid might have saved the day. Good job by the way" She said giving Merlyn a wink. "But I'll be honest I really want to know how he did it."

"That's a good point, son, how did you do it? Can you tell us?" John asked just as interested in the answer as Emily.

Merlyn just looked at his dad. When he saw him smiling back he realized that his dad was happy and that just made everything alright. Being accepted is just something he was going to have to get used too, Merlyn decided. "Well I saw the knife heading for mom. I felt my body start to um...tingle and that's when everything started to slow down. But the knife kept going towards mom. I was so afraid I screamed and then the tingle got stronger. That's when it stopped. I just tried to keep the knife away from mom. When she sat down I stopped trying and ran to her." Merlyn looked into his father's eyes for some sign that it was all going to be alright and boy did he find it.

John was stunned. It really was his son. Now, he had to admit to himself, whether it was magic or something else he couldn't be sure. "Wow." John breathed out. "Son what you did was amazing. I am so proud of you for protecting your mom." John gave Merlyn the largest smile he could. Merlyn just sent it right back. His dad was proud of him. He looked at his parents. People who he didn't even know two days ago, who took him in and then adopted him. It certainly didn't feel like only one day to Merlyn, he felt as if he had always been apart of this family. Somehow he just knew that his parents felt the same way.

John was looking at his smiling family then to a disbelieving Emily. Well he knew a way to turn her into a believer. That is if it worked. "Son, do you think you could help me? I would like to see if you can do what you did last night again. Will you help me?" Merlyn looked really scared when his dad asked him that. John realized his mistake and quickly made to correct it. "No, no, no, I didn't mean with the knife. I meant that I wanted you to do what you did last night. No one will get hurt I promise we will be very careful." John said soothingly to his son. Merlyn quite visibly calmed down.

Now that he understood he found himself looking forward to trying it again. After all making thing stop in midair was kinda cool. He just smiled and nodded.

"Great I have a couple of ideas I want to try. Why don't you go up and take a bath and I will get it all set up." John told his son.

"Kay dad." With a hug for both his parents he headed up stairs.

"Man nothing seems to keep that kid down for long. Reminds me of a odd couple I know." Emily said giving said couple a wry smile.

"Well he obviously takes after me." Said John jokingly and everyone got a good laugh. "Alright I need to run to the store I should be back in half an hour. I will only be getting a couple of things."

An hour later we find our little group back in the living room. The three adults are sitting on the couch while Merlyn is sitting in the arm chair in front of the coffee table. The coffee table is holding what would appear to be random objects. John however stood by his statement that each one was there for a particular reason. On the table we have a racket ball, a candle, and a glass of water.

"So... John mind explaining what these things are for?" Emily asked

"Sure. Number one, the racket ball is for trying to get Merlyn to do what he did last night, but if he can't it won't hurt anyone. Number two, the candle is to see if he can, you know, make fire." John explained with excitement in his voice.

"And the large glass of water?" Emily asked

"Oh that will be used if number 2 goes wrong." John answered with a smile. Emily's however was disappearing. "Right now son I want you to try to get that tingling feeling back." Merlyn nodded and closed his eyes to try. A few minutes later he opened them so suddenly everyone inhaled. "Well?"

"Nope." Merlyn said as he shook his head.

"Hmm, maybe it needs to just be done and it will come out. Like an instinct. Maria would you stand over there we are going to play catch." Maria got up with a bemused expression. John then knelt down next to his son "Now I want you to just try to keep the ball from reaching your mom okay?" Merlyn nodded. They played catch for a good fifteen minutes before John called quits.

Merlyn was getting frustrated. While making things float was cool he didn't really care about the ball or actually being able to do it. He just didn't want to disappoint his dad.

John noticed the look on his son's face. "Hey buddy," He said putting a hand on his son's shoulder. "You are doing great. I know this is difficult. I think that's enough with the ball. We are going to move on to the candle. Alright?" Merlyn nodded. He felt better after that. He could try the candle.

Unfortunately the candle worked out as well as the racket ball. John was disappointed but wouldn't let it show. He didn't want his son to feel like he didn't do a good job. As a matter of fact John thought Merlyn did outstanding, he was being such a good sport. John felt like something was missing. He just couldn't put his finger on it. But once again he had to call it quits. Ah well they could always try another time. "Alright son enough work. How about we go to a movie, eh?" He asked the room. "My treat." He added when he saw Emily.

"Sounds good to me. But lets stop at the store on the way. The snacks at the theater are always overpriced." Emily said.

"Wait isn't that illegal and aren't you a cop?" John asked shocked by what he just heard.

"Exactly I am a cop. My paycheck sucks." Emily deadpanned and everyone laughed.

"Well there is no need to go to the store why don''t we just take John's" Maria put in.

"John's what?" Emily asked

"John's candy."

There was a deafening silence as Emily's eyes went wide. "John...makes...candy?! Where!?" Maria just went to go get the bag when she got back Emily ran right up to her and grabbed one of the chocolates and a gummy. The gummy was like the essence of a cherry and a grape liquefying on her tongue. It took a minute for her to calm down from that high. Next was the chocolate. The moment it touched her tongue she was in heaven. Weightless, at peace, the silky smooth texture took her to cloud nine. It took a little longer to come back to earth from the chocolate than from the gummy. "Wow. No wonder you married him. Hell I would have if I had known he could take me to heaven." Maria just glared at her best friend. Emily's eyes widened "I meant with the chocolates." She said throwing her hands up in surrender. "Speaking of which..." Emily swiped another piece of chocolate and started singing as she headed to the car. "Oh, sweet mystery of life at last I have found you!" causing everyone inside to fall on the floor laughing.

The foursome then proceeded to see a movie and enjoyed it so much that they decided to see another. After all there were some snacks left over. Although not for long if Emily kept at them. They had a hour in between shows and decided to get Merlyn some ice cream while they waited. Emily wisely chose to stick with the chocolate. She had calmed down from her first taste. Now she was just humming. Soon it was time for the second movie. John however didn't pay attention to it. To be fare he didn't pay attention to the first movie either. It wasn't that he wasn't interested in the movies it was that his mind was working on a problem and would not be dissuaded from its path. They had dinner in the city. Merlyn was disappointed that the restaurant wouldn't let his father in the kitchen to cook. But his dad said he would cook tomorrow so it was okay. By the time they got home it was rather late so Emily said her goodbyes and left as the family went inside.

"Hey John will you get Merlyn some juice. I need to go soak in the tub and relax a bit."

"Sure love. I know its been a rough couple of days" John said giving his wife a chaste kiss. "Alright bud ready for some orange juice?"

"Yea!" Merlyn jumped. He really loved that stuff.

John got him a nice big glassful which Merlyn promptly downed. John just shook his head as Merlyn looked at the carton wanting another glass. And it hit John like a lightning bolt. 'That's it!' John shouted in his head. "Hey son, remember what we were doing earlier?" Merlyn nodded. "Would you give it one more go for me. But this time things will be a little bit different alright." Merlyn just nodded again. He trusted his dad and wanted to make him proud. "Alright come on lets get to the living room." John got the candle and water ready. He was sure that this was the key. Once everything was ready John turned off the lights. It wasn't completely dark just very dim.

"Alright son, for this to work we are going to have to use our imaginations okay?" Merlyn nodded. "Now I want you to know that you are completely safe I won't let anything happen to you okay?" Merlyn let out a breath and nodded again. "Now I want you to imagine that you are cold. It is snowing and you are outside. Feel how cold you are. You forgot your jacket and it is freezing outside. The only thing there is is this candle. You have no way to light it but you need it lit. The candle is the only way to get warm. Focus on the cold and the candle." John said slowly trying to emphasize the cold. It was working Merlyn started to shiver and stayed focused on the candle. John could see the determination creep onto his sons face. John kept quiet and just watched in the dark. He waited, and waited. Until...

Fire.

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Now i know you are all waiting for Harry Potter to appear. Well have no fear he will be making his debut within the next two chapters.**

 **Thank you for reading and please review.**

 **Thank you.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hello everyone here is chapter five i hope you enjoy it.**

A few minutes ago with Merlyn...

Merlyn sat on the chair and starred at the candle again. He didn't really expect anything to happen but his dad asked him to try so he would. After a few minutes his dad spoke up. Apparently he was supposed to imagine being in the freezing rain without a coat. Well that didn't make any sense at all. You should always wear a coat when its raining. But, once again, his dad asked him to do this. And it's not like he was really in the rain anyway. He imagined himself in the freezing cold rain, and nothing happened. Then his dad told him to feel the freezing cold. Merlyn tried, and you know what he started to feel cold. With each passing second he got colder and colder. Until he almost couldn't bear it. Then his dad let him know how to warm up. He needed fire. He needed to light that candle. All of a sudden that tingling feeling came back. It was stronger than it was the other night. It seemed to pulse through him. With every pulse the tingling got stronger and more intense. Eventually it was too much and he somehow let it all out while thinking of the candle being lit. And there it was...

Fire.

"Dad!" Merlyn shouted not taking his eye's from the candle flame. "I did it! Come look!" He couldn't believe it he really did do it.

"Yes, you did!" he shouted with joy as he picked him up and started to swing him around. "I am so proud of you son." John told Merlyn with a large smile. "This deserves a treat! How would you like some chocolate?"

Merlyn's eyes lit up. He had some of his father's chocolate at the movie and it was amazing! "Yay! Chocolate!"

Right as they were going to enter the kitchen both Merlyn and John heard a irritated cough coming from the stairway. "Excuse me. Did someone say something about chocolate?...Well?" Maria said in a tone John knew meant that she was not in the mood to play around. "I just finished getting my bath ready when I hear my son shout 'Chocolate'." She was about to keep going when she felt a familiar tug on the sleeve of her bath robe. She looked down to see the happy face of her son.

John could tell that he was about to get an earful unless he jumped in front of this thing. Smiling he looked down at Merlyn, "Son, why don't we show mommy what you did?" Merlyn just nodded the smile never leaving his face.

Maria found herself being turned around and led into the living room. There was a lit candle sitting on the coffee table but the rest of the room was pretty dark. Now she was pissed not only was he going to give Merlyn chocolate right before bed but he also left a candle burning where her son could reach it. As soon as she put it out he was so going to get it. She had just started for the candle when her husbands arms wrapped around her. Maria was so upset that she just reacted and elbowed him in the ribs. John let out a grunt when she hit him. It hurt. "Wait a second! Just calm down." John whispered heatedly in her ear. He knew she was upset but he didn't expect her to lash out like this. At least Merlyn didn't seem to notice. He would most definitely have words with his wife after this. But right now was all about his son.

Merlyn walked right over to the candle and picked it up. He turned around with the candle sitting in his cupped palms and said "Look at what I did, Mommy" in the most enthusiastic voice he could muster. He was so thrilled with what he did and he really wanted his mom to be proud of him just like his dad.

Maria went from furious to dumbstruck in an instant. Her mouth hanging open and not able to make a sound. All her anger and fury dissipated in that instant to be replaced by numbness. There was no way, just no way he could be saying what she thought he was saying right? "Um honey," She began as she got down on her knees to look her son in the eyes, "how did you do it?"

Merlyn had a huge grin plastered on his face and said "I used the tingling. Dad helped me."

" Oh honey it is lovely lets get it into the kitchen alright?" Merlyn just nodded and headed that way. "Baby why don't you let mommy take the candle." She said as she gently took it from his palms. The flame took on a whole new meaning for her. It was beautiful. "Lynn, why don't you grab a seat in the kitchen. Mommy and daddy need to talk for a little bit but we will be in soon alright?" Merlyn nodded and headed to the kitchen to await the coming chocolate. Maria gently put the candle back on the coffee table and slowly turned to face John. She really didn't want to look into his eyes right now. Not after what she did. She never got physical with John, at least not in anger. In fun and love sure, but not anger never anger. Sure they argue every once in a while but it was never about anything major. And it certainly never got physical...until tonight. "John, I am so sorry." Maria began as tears started to flow down her face. Her eyes were still on the floor unable to bring them to his face. "I am so sorry. I don't know what came over me. Its just what with everything that's happened I just couldn't take...Oh John, I am so so sorry. I promise it will never happen again." She just stood there crying waiting for an answer but none came. She looked up into his eyes. They were so full of hurt. And she had put it there. She felt despicable. John was just standing there. Then he raised his arms and beckoned for his wife. She just sobbed and ran into his waiting arms. Maria held him tightly to her as she cried.

John could see the pain and punishment she was putting herself through, and seeing it made him sick to his stomach. He hated seeing her this way. "It's alright, love" John said soothingly. "I forgive you." Maria just continued to sob into his shirt. John couldn't let this go on. He put a finger under her chin and lifted her face up where he met her lips with his. John put all of his feelings of love and forgiveness into that kiss. Eventually they broke apart. "Come on, it has been a long couple of days. I think we could all use some chocolate." He said with a smile.

"I think your right." Maria told him while wiping the tears out of her eyes. "After we get the little one to bed why don't you join me in the tub?" She asked with love. "After everything that has happened I would really like to be held by my husband."

"Well you are in luck because it just so happens that after all this I really would like to hold my wife." John said following the statement with a chaste kiss. And with that they headed into the kitchen to eat some chocolate with their son.

Maria woke the next morning to feel her husbands arms around her. She really needed last night. They both did to be honest. They just sat in their large tub holding each other for hours. The excitement, the stress, the worry it all just went down the drain with the water. She could hardly believe what preceded it though. Her son lit a candle with his mind. Just wow. Her eyes then shot wide open with realization and disentangled herself from John. She knew if there was any chance she really needed to hurry.

John woke up to an empty bed. That was most definitely odd. He never woke up in an empty bed One of the perks of having a wife who is retired. But then again he up until now he didn't have a son for her to get up for. He realized that must be it. Merlyn must have needed something so of course mommy went to help. He just smiled at the thought. Well he better get up and start breakfast he refused to put his child through Maria's cooking.

When John entered the kitchen he instantly saw his wife, but no Merlyn. Weird. As he was scanning the room he noticed that there was a lit candle in front of his wife. "Is this your way of telling me that you want a romantic breakfast?" He asked as he walked up behind her and slipped his arms around her.

Maria looked up at her husband with a broad smile."Well that sounds lovely dear. But no this is Merlyn's."

John's eyes widened. "He did it again!" he almost shouted with amazement.

"What? Oh, no no, this is the same one from last night."

" Um Maria I hate to tell you but the candle has barely started to melt it can't be the same one from last night."

Maria let out an amused huff. "Not the candle, Love." She said while leaning back into him. "The fire. I was able to light this candle with it before it went out." John's eyes were now threatening to come out of his head. That was brilliant. "We might not have been here for his first steps but we were there when he did...this." Maria said with a pleased smile. She knew that she hadn't seen it when it happened but John told her all about it in extreme detail while they were soaking last night. This was their version of 'first steps' and she wanted to keep the feeling alive.

"You are brilliant Maria. We can always keep it burning." John said with a smile and small kiss for his wife. "You know we do need to decide what we are going to do with Merlyn, you know."

"Well I think we should keep him." Maria said smartly with a chuckle.

John just gave a look. Although a smile started to crawl onto his face. His wife was finally relaxed for the first time in days. They hadn't realized just how stressed they were becoming. He was secretly glad that Maria elbowed him since this is how it turned out. "That's not what I meant and you know it. I was talking about school."

"Oh." Maria just stood there thinking. She hadn't thought about this. "I really don't know what we should do. Do you think he is ready for school? I mean what grade would he be in anyway?" Maria asked.

"No, I don't think that he is ready for school. At least not socially. He barely talks to us after all. As for academically we have absolutely no idea where he stands." John just stood there with his arms still around his wife and laid his chin on her head and began to think of a plan. " I think I've got it." John said after a few minutes. Maria looked up at him all ears. "How about we home school him for this year. We can make sure he is where he needs to be academically, work on his social skills and his shyness, which in fact is the only real problem he has. Oh and lets not forget that." John said nodding at the flame. "We really can't send him to school until he at least has some control over his gift."

"That's very true." Maria agreed. "Well we can figure all that out later today. Why don't you get started on that romantic breakfast you were talking about."

"What about the little guy upstairs?"

"Oh it's early he shouldn't be up for a while. I'll tell you what I will go to the store and pick up a old fashion lantern." Maria said from the comfort of her husbands arms. "After all it will be a lot easier to keep a lantern going then a candle." She said nodding toward the lit candle in the middle of the island.

"Pretty good idea. So what are you waiting for. Get going." John said as he slapped his wife's butt playfully while flashing her a stimulating smile.

When Maria returned from the store she had an oil lamp and a quart of oil. It should last about a week or so. When she walked inside the smell hit her and Maria was transported to heaven. John had gone all out. Something he usually only did for special occasions like their anniversary. Maria practically floated to the kitchen ready to eat with the love of her life. Maria froze the instant she crossed the threshold to the kitchen. Merlyn was sitting at the island eagerly awaiting the breakfast that the smells promised.

Well this changed things quite a bit. Maria certainly wasn't going to be flashing anyone now. And after changing into her husbands favorite lingerie. She let out a disappointed breath drawing the attention of her husband.

"Well look who's back." John said shooting her a smile. "Merlyn what do you say?"

Merlyn jumped off his stool and ran over to his mom. "Good morning Mommy." He said with a ton of energy. "Dad told me that you are going to keep it." He said pointing over to the candle. His dad told him that they wanted to keep it to show off to everyone how proud they were of him. A few tears leaked out of Merlyn's eyes at the happiness he felt. He had never been so happy or felt so loved in all his life. He wasn't sure how he knew that, but somehow he did. His mom picked him up and started to walk over to the stool. She sat down and settled him down in her lap. His day just kept on getting better and better. First his dad told him that both he and his mom were proud of him, and now he was getting breakfast while sitting with his mom. Best day ever. Merlyn couldn't keep his smile down, and really why would he.

Breakfast was incredible. Afterword they all went into the living room and moved Merlyn's fire into the lantern. Then his parents set the lantern on the fireplace mantle for all to see. They all sat on the couch and looked at it for a few minutes. 'It's a good spot.' Merlyn thought.

"Hey Merlyn why don't you go get dressed. Then you and mommy can take you to London for some shopping." Merlyn just nodded and went upstairs.

"Don't you want to come?" Maria asked confused.

"Absolutely I would love to. However there are things that need to be taken care of. I will call up Emily and get everything together. We need things like birth certificate, social security number. Things like that take time and energy and are incredibly boring. So I thought I would take care of it while you and our son went off and had some fun." John explained and then gave his wife a sweet peck on the lips. "Have fun."

Maria went up stairs to change into something more comfortable for London. After all she could always change back into her fun clothes later. She thought with a wicked grin. As she reached the bottom of the stairs she saw Merlyn bouncing on his toes ready to go and chuckled at the sight. "Come on my little Lynn, let's get going and when we get back your father will have an amazing dinner waiting for us."

"Yay!" Merlyn cheered. First he is getting to go out with mom and then an amazing dinner. Yep definitely the best day ever. He simply smiled and ran to the car.

"See you tonight sweetheart." Maria said with a kiss and headed out the door. This was going to be quite the day. She got buckled in and looked over to her son. "Ready to go?" Merlyn gave her an enthusiastic nod. And they set off.

John practically fell into his favorite arm chair. This had been a trying day to say the least. First he called Emily to find out the procedures needed. She told him that he had to contact a lawyer, ten branches of government, and who knows what else. The lawyer told him to call that doctor they went to the other day and submit some form in order to get a birth certificate since there were none on file for his son. That puzzled him. It was almost as if Merlyn just came into being on that spot in the road during that storm. Well it would take a few weeks to get all the paperwork finalized but at least ten hours of phone and leg work had taken care of their part of it. Now they just had to wait. One more phone call that is all he needed to make. Taking a deep breath he took solace in the fact that it would be short. So he picked up the phone and dialed.

"Surrey police, how may I direct your call?"

"Captain Stalks please."

"Please hold"

"This is Captain Stalks."

"Hey Em." John started.

"John," Emily stopped him quickly. "What did I tell you when you called earlier?"

"Um, " John thought for a bit, "to call your cell." he finished apologetically. "Look I'm sorry but I just finished with that laundry list of things I had to do today."

"Really...You actually finished all of it?" Emily asked. She was impressed, normally it would take a few days if not a week to finish everything. No wonder he sounded so tired.

"Look I have some vegetables simmering and I was wondering if" John didn't even get a chance to finish when a "Yes I'll be right over" Came over the phone. Then the line went dead. "Well, at least it was short." John said to himself. He had about twenty minutes before he had to get back to his food so he poured himself a scotch, put on some music and just relaxed.

Maria pulled up into the driveway a smile plastered on her face. This had been a wonderful day. The drive into London was a little rocky with some silence. But once they got parked and started to walk Merlyn became a bundle of energy dragging her from one place to another. Although she did have to drag him into the clothing stores. Honestly what is it with boys and clothes shopping. She had the same problem with John. But Merlyn did was a good sport about it. As a reward Maria took her son on the London Eye. He loved it. Running around the compartment so high in the sky. She on the other hand hated it. Heights terrified Maria, however she would deal with her insecurities to see her little Lynn that happy. Eventually they came back down and continued what she enjoyed, shopping.

"Alright Lynn, how about you help your mommy bring these bags up to your room."

"Kay." Merlyn replied as he grabbed as many as he could carry and headed towards the door. Unfortunately now he couldn't open it, but his mom came to help me get the door open.

When Maria opened the door she saw that there were to people sitting in the living room. "Hello, we're home." She called out.

"Welcome back love. Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes." Said John eyeing the bags that the two newcomers were holding. "Do you think you got enough?" He said with a chuckle.

Maria let out a breath. "No I am afraid not. But it will have to do for now. Oh honey will you get the rest please."

"Rest?" John asked a little shocked between her and Merlyn they were carrying about ten bags. "Just how many more are there?" He asked in alarm.

"Oh not that many. Maybe another ten." John hung his head in defeat and headed outside to get the rest. Giving his wife a welcoming kiss on the way out.

The person sitting on the couch started laughing, "Is that all for the kid?"

Maria shrugged "Most of it. Although I did get a few things for John. But yea most of it is for Lynn"

"Lynn?"

"Yes Lynn Don't you like it? I think it suits him more than Merlyn." Maria explained.

Emily nodded in understanding. "No no, I do like it. I just didn't quite catch that you meant Merlyn. You know John will always call him Merlyn. Obsessive about magic that one is." Emily said looking toward the door. "Speaking of which, did 'Lynn' actually make that." Emily gestured to the oil lamp on the mantle.

"Yes he did." Maria told her best friend with pride. "He did it last night with John. When I woke up I had realized that we left the candle burning before we went to bed. So I hurried downstairs and grabbed an extra candle and lit it with the other. I almost didn't make it on time. A few minutes later and I would have missed it."

"Wow. So John was right. I am still not sure I believe it though. It's just too fantastic. Maybe he could show me tonight hmm?" Emily slid in the question just to see if her friends were pulling her leg.

"Hmm, I don't think so." Maria told her. 'Gotcha' Emily thought and just as she was about to confront her Maria continued. "John told me what he had to do in order to get Lynn to light the candle. I don't want him doing that to our son again. I mean I understand that he will have to in order to find a way for Lynn to control it. I just told him to take it slow. After all Lynn is only six. Give it a few weeks then you can come over for a showing. Okay?" Maria said with a smile that just reeked of the pride she held for her son.

"Yeah sure." Emily responded weakly.

After dinner everyone is situated in the living room once again. Emily and Maria were sipping on their mudslides. "God you even make fantastic drinks. How I wish you weren't married." Emily said with a look of ecstasy on her face after a particularly large sip. John lifted his glass of scotch in recognition. All the while Merlyn just sat there watching everyone interact while drinking his hot chocolate. Emily eventually came down from her high and asked ," So what are your plans? It is a little late for Lynn to start school this year."

"Well I have been thinking about it and even if we wanted him to go this year he couldn't. We would have to wait a few more weeks for all of the paper work to finalize." John answered taking a sip of scotch. " So we have decided on home schooling for this year. Next year we will put him in primary school. But we won't just be working on academics. We are also going to be working on his social skills and shyness not to mention his gift." John said nodding towards the lamp with Merlyn's fire inside. "Maria has even decided to teach him self defense."

At hearing that Emily burst out laughing, receiving a rather annoyed look from Maria for it. "Oh, this I should have seen coming." Emily got out between bouts of laughter. "Come on Maria he is only what six, seven at the most." She just kept laughing until she felt a sudden sting in her shin. She immediately looked down to see a rather upset looking Merlyn.

"Stop it!" He told Emily. "Stop being mean. It's not nice." He then walked over and climbed up next to his mom. "Are you alright mommy?" He asked while giving her a hug.

Maria was near tears. Her son had just defended her, not that she really needed it her friend was only having a bit of fun. But her son thought that her feelings were being hurt and had rushed to help her. "I am much better now thanks to you." She told her son along with giving him a great big hug. She was near bursting with pride and love for her son. John was in the exact same boat.

Emily on the other hand was so shocked at what had just occurred that her mouth just hung open for a few minutes. 'Damn this kid could kick. And if he is going to be coming to peoples rescues he will probably get in a lot of fights. Maria was right, he needed to learn to fight or he would get hurt. Now that her mind had cleared some she realized she needed to make up some lost ground with the kid. "Your right." She said to Merlyn. "So how do I fix my mistake?" She asked him as seriously as she could manage.

"You need to apologize to mom." Merlin replied his face going back to angry once his eyes left his mom and fixated on her.

Shit I might have just really screwed things up between the kid and I. She took a deep breath and said "Maria I am sorry I laughed at you. Can you forgive me?" She asked giving Maria a meaningful glance as if to say "Come on and play along."

Maria got the hint. She of course knew that her friend didn't mean any harm. "Yes I forgive you. Thank you for apologizing."

The moment she accepted she looked at Merlyn who just smiled at her. "Thank you for your help Lynn"

Merlyn smiled glad that he could help. "It's alright. Sometimes people forget to be nice so you just have to remind them."

All of the adults froze at his words. John and Maria wondered where the hell that bit of wisdom had come from. It was surprisingly mature for someone so young. Emily on the other hand could only think that she had just been played. That instant forgiveness after Maria gave hers. The little brat knew she was just screwing with Maria. Holy shit! Who was this kid?!

"Well I think that is enough for tonight." John said breaking the silence. "Bed time buddy." Merlyn nodded to his father and went to put up his cup. "You two feel free to chat but I am bushed. So I'm heading to bed. Night Emily" John said, "Don't be to long." He added to his wife with a quick kiss.

"I think I should be heading to bed as well we start school tomorrow after all. " Maria said.

"Night all." Emily said before leaving. John closed the door behind her and headed up to bed with his wife.

The next morning the family of three got right down to business. John had already thought of the subjects he wanted to teach his son and got Maria to pick up books while in London yesterday. They would be teaching their son the usual Math, Science, English, but would also be teaching him French, and German. Apparently teaching extra languages young was the key. And while John had insisted on an hour for training Merlyn's gift, Maria had insisted on an hour for self defense. All in all a solid school day. Thus it began, seven hours a day five day's a week. Both John and Maria were rather impressed their son took to it all like fish to water. He seemed to be a natural at just about everything. So much so that over the next few weeks John and Maria continually introduced Merlyn to new activities to try and find something he wasn't good at. They found out rather quickly that as talented as he was at somethings he was just as horrible at others. For instance they found that just like his father he was a rather good cook. Well good enough that John had him help whenever he cooked. At the same time Merlyn was absolutely dreadful when it came to making friends. It wasn't that he wasn't polite or friendly, in fact during the play dates they had with other parents went well. Merlyn simply didn't seem to like anyone, apparently he was rather picky when it came to people. Or maybe it was simply that he was so mature for his age. This is how life progressed for the family for the next few months.

However things were a little different when it came to Merlyn's gift. John didn't have Merlyn try anything for a few weeks. After all how do you instruct in something when you yourself don't know how it works. After the first few days John had all the information he could gather from Merlyn about when he had used his gift and the feelings associated with it. After a few weeks John had created a system. He would have Merlyn imagine a scenario just like he did with the candle, and each time he would have these scenarios become less severe each week. And so every week it became easier and easier for Merlyn to get the tingling feeling. After nine months he could bring up the tingly feeling without any scenarios at all. That night they had a celebration and invited Emily over for a long overdue demonstration.

"Why hello. I was beginning to think you had forgotten about me." Emily said with a mocking pout.

"Come on in. Lynn has been waiting all day for his Auntie to come." Maria told her.

"Of course he has. I am his favorite Aunt after all." Emily stated rather pompously.

"You're his only Aunt." Maria deadpanned.

"Beside the point." Emily huffed. "Now where is my nephew?" She asked rather loudly as she stepped in side.

"Auntie Em! Auntie Em!" Merlyn came running to give his aunt a hug. Emily just grimaced at her nickname. A couple of months ago her friends had shown the boy The Wizard of Oz. And ever since she had been Auntie Em. God damn it, she had told Maria that there was no way in hell she would be Auntie Em and here she was. She blamed it entirely on the boy. Lynn was just to adorable to say no to at times.

"Ah, hello there Emily. Glad you could make it." Came a voice from the kitchen.

"Hello John, well of course I made it. I have two very good reasons for being here. First my nephew is here and I missed him." She said ruffling the kids hair. "And secondly you are cooking."

Merlyn had to smile at the fact that he had always been more important to his aunt than his dad's cooking. To be honest he would be hard pressed to find someone that he liked more than his dad's cooking. Apart from his family of course. "Dad?"

"Yes. What is it son?" Came the reply from the kitchen.

"Can we show Auntie Em now? Please."

"Hmm. I don't know. Have you finished all your chores?"

"Yes, dad." He answered. He really hated chores. But after he finished his dad would make him a treat so he always tried to finish them as soon as possible. "I finished like an hour ago."

"Alright get in here and watch the fish for me and I will get everything set up." John replied.

Emily was a little surprised when John came out of the kitchen holding a candle and a rubber ball. "I hope you don't expect me to eat that." She said jokingly. "Although if you are the one who cooked I might be convinced to give it a try." Emily chuckled. So did John for that matter.

"No, don't worry this most definitely isn't dinner. Merlyn just wants to show you something." John set down the ball and candle. He then started to move some of the furniture to create a space. "Alright Merlyn come on in the fish should be done by now." John called to the kitchen.

"It's done dad. I took it off the fire so it can rest." Merlyn said as he came out of the kitchen.

"Son remember you let red meat rest not fish." John told him. Merlyn looked a little sad. "Don't worry son pretty soon you will be out cooking me. It just takes time." John told him to build up his confidence a bit. That was one thing about him. Merlyn's problem with shyness stemmed from self confidence. Both he and Maria thought that if he just had a friend then maybe that would solve the confidence issue. Well in three months he would be in public school and should be able to find a friend there.

"Right." Merlyn said as he smiled up at his dad. "I'll remember this time!" he added with enthusiasm.

"I know you will son. Now are you ready to show your Auntie what you have learned." Merlyn nodded vigorously. "Alright Emily why don't you and Maria sit on the couch and we will get started. Merlyn right over here." Merlyn went to stand by his father right in front of the candle.

"So what are you going to show me?" Emily asked.

"Remember a while back you wanted to see my little Lynn use his gift but he couldn't control it. Well it took some time but now..." Maria said gesturing towards the candle and her son.

"Seriously!? I thought it was a joke you were playing on me. I thought you gave it up as a bad job." Emily said shocked.

Maria just laughed at the face her friend was making. "Nope, it just took longer than I anticipated. Now hush up and watch."

"Ready son?" John asked and received a nod. "Alright go for it." John told him as he stepped back. They all watched with bated breath then it happened. Fire just popped into existence on top of the candle.

"Holy Cow!" Screamed Emily. "You did it! You actually did it!" It took a few minutes to calm down. John and Maria just watched her amused while Merlyn just stood there looking very pleased with himself. After a few minutes Emily was able to breathe normally again. "So no trick candle?" Everyone shook their head. "This is real?" Everyone just nodded letting it all sink in.

"So Em, are you ready for part two?" John asked her. Emily just nodded weakly not trusting her voice. "Alright Merlyn go stand by the chair. That's it. Are you ready?" Merlyn nodded ready to go. "Here we go. Watch this Em." John then picked up the ball and tossed it so that it would land almost right at the midpoint between them. Merlyn shot out his hand palm forward and the ball stopped. It stayed still in the air for roughly five seconds before Merlyn let it drop to the floor.

Emily was still. She couldn't even breathe. What the hell. Merlyn really did it. This was absolutely fantastic, amazing, incredible... she couldn't even think of a word to describe it. Magic or not this was something else. Emily was brought out of her musings when Merlyn spoke up.

"What do you think Auntie Em?" Merlyn asked with a hopeful look.

"I think that it is amazing. This is incredible Lynn."

"Would you like to see another one?" Emily nodded not seeing the confused look on Maria's face or the concerned one on John's.

Maria however did see the look on John's face. "Lynn, honey, what else can you do?"

"I can catch the ball!" Merlyn said in excitement. Emily just smiled at the boy. Catching a ball probably was something exciting for a boy that age.

Maria couldn't see why John was looking like that it certainly didn't seem dangerous. "John, whats wrong?"

"Oh nothing it's just that it takes a bit out of him." He replied. Emily looked a little shocked and couldn't help thinking that maybe there was more to catching a ball then she thought. "Merlyn are you sure you want to do this?" John asked. Merlyn nodded emphatically. He really wanted to see his Auntie Em's reaction. "Alright." John went and picked up the ball. "Are you ready?" John asked Merlyn nodded. This time his arm was already out palm forward. A look of intense concentration on his face. "Here we go." John said and then tossed the ball just like last time. And just like last time the ball froze in the air. But then Merlyn turned his hand so that his palm was facing the ceiling. When he did that the ball started to slowly move toward him. Inch by inch it got closer. When the ball was above his palm it froze and Merlyn closed his fingers around it.

Everyone just watched the ball on it's journey toward Merlyn. Once he grabbed it both Maria and Emily were gobsmacked. Maria had never seen her son do something like this, and as for Emily she was still in partial shock from the previous display and with this added to it she might not move for a while. Emily was astounded. Neither of them saw Merlyn begin to sway back and forth. But John had. He knew just how much this took out of his son and was ready. As Merlyn collapsed John was right there to catch him. That brought the two women out of their revelry. They immediately shot up and ran over to Merlyn to make sure he was alright.

"Calm down, calm down. Our son is perfectly fine, he is simply extremely tired. I told you this would take a lot out of him." John was now carrying an unconscious Merlyn to the kitchen. "Maria I'll need your help. You hold him and help him eat I wouldn't be surprised to find that he is too tired to lift his arms, but he needs to eat. Once he finishes we will put him to bed. We can eat then." Merlyn was so tired that he did indeed need his mom to feed him. After he finished his food he just couldn't keep his eyes open any longer and went to sleep right there in his mother's lap. John and Maria put their boy to bed before eating dinner with Emily. They spent most of it discussing Merlyn and what he did tonight. Maria was worried about how much it tired Merlyn out. John told them that it was like working a muscle. And if he was right the only thing to do was to continue on as they had been. Maria saw his point and agreed. Emily was mostly silent still recovering from what she saw. After a few drinks however she seemed to come back to herself. Soon after dinner Emily took her leave as she didn't want to keep the couple up any longer not to mention that she was quite tired herself. After Emily left the couple took one last look at the lantern, still lit after all these months, before heading up to bed themselves.

A few months later we find the Ashwoods getting a rather somber Merlyn ready for his first day of school.

"Do I really need to go?" Merlyn asked. He really liked being home schooled so he saw no reason to go to this one.

"Yes you do. Look I'll make you a deal. You try this school for a year. If you still don't like it then we will home school you again. Do we have a deal?" John asked. Merlyn just nodded. It was obvious that he wasn't happy but this would be the best offer he would get and he knew it. "Alright son you look very handsome. It's time to go." The entire family got in the car and left for St. Grogory Primary School. After a short drive they arrived. The family walked into the school and found the office.

"Yes, how can I help you." The woman behind the desk asked sweetly.

"This is our son's first day." Maria explained. "We wanted to make sure he got where he needed to be."

"Oh, I see." The woman said. "And what is the child's name?"

"Ashwood. Merlyn Ashwood." John put in.

"I see. Give me one moment." The woman said as she started to ruffle through her papers until she found the one she wanted. "Ah here we are. Well young man you are in room 113. Best be off now don't want to be late on your first day do you?" she asked with a chuckle. The woman then turned to John and Maria, "School gets out at three. Be sure to be here to pick him up alright."

John nodded and told her they would be. The family then left the office to find room 113. When they found it John and Maria knelt down next to their son to give him one final pep talk. "Son you will do just fine. So don't worry about a thing. Remember always be polite and courteous."

"Especially to girls." Maria pipped in.

"Yes especially to girls." John said with a chuckle. "And you should do fine."

"We will be waiting for you right out front at three. Okay?" Maria asked getting a little teary eyed. Merlyn nodded as he stepped forward to give them a goodbye hug.

"Go get'em son." John told Merlyn as he and Maria stood back up. Merlyn gave his father a solid nod and walked through the door and closed it behind him.

Right after he closed the door Merlyn turned around and took in his new surroundings. There were a lot of kids. He was startled when he laid eyes on his teacher. He did not get a good feeling from her. It was like she didn't want to be here so she was determined that no one else want to be here either. That and she seemed to be eyeing him.

"So who do we have here?" The teacher asked.

"I'm Merlyn, Merlyn Ashwood." He replied in a polite tone.

"Well Mr. Ashwood, you are late. What do you have to say for yourself? Hmm?" She asked glaring at him.

Merlyn had to school his features. He knew right there and then that he did not like this teacher. But he had to be polite. "Always be polite." His father would tell him. "It always works out in the end." His father was always full a bits of wisdom. Well here goes nothing. "I'm sorry. I am new to the school and was saying goodbye to my parents." Merlyn explained. 'Good job Merlyn, nice and polite.' he thought to himself.

"Be that as it may you are to be in your seat by eight o'clock. Am I understood?" Merlyn just nodded. "Very good. Now since you are new to the school you will need someone to show you around. Let me see." She made a show of thinking. Then with an evil smirk she continued. "Ah you there! Boy!" A boy with messy black hair looked up and pointed at himself in confusion. "Yes you. Now you will show Mr. Ashwood around is that clear." The boy just nodded quickly. "You had better do a good job or I will send word to your aunt and uncle." The boy's eyes went wide with fear and nodded quickly. "Good now Mr. Ashwood take your seat."

Merlyn went as far away from the old coot as possible which just so happened to be next to his new guide. The morning went by rather uneventfully. The teacher, Ms. Pritchard he found out her name was, told them what was going to be covered this year and told them that she would not tolerate any bad behavior of funny business of any kind. Merlyn was right earlier he most definitely did not like her. His parents were far better teachers. He couldn't wait till this year was over so he can go back to being home schooled. Eventually the bell rang and it was lunch time. Everyone got up and headed to the door. Well everyone except Merlyn and his guide. Merlyn looked over at him. He was skinny with over sized clothes and messy black hair. But he would withhold judgment until he knew the boy better. Well better introduce myself or I will never find out where I need to be to eat. "Hello, I'm Merlyn, Merlyn Ashwood." The boy looked up at him with a sad look on his face. The boy then took a deep breath and spoke.

"Hello. I'm Harry, Harry Potter."

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter and here is Harry.**

 **Please review and let me know what you think.**

 **Thank you.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hello again everyone. As you have probably noticed these chapters are coming out very quickly. That is due to the fact that they are from my first story. Now I have gone through each one to do some editing but the truly new chapters will start soon i promise. I hope you enjoy chapter 6.**

'Please let the bell ring soon.' Harry thought. It wasn't that he was looking forward to lunch. Because he most certainly wasn't. He would be if he had anything to eat but he was still being punished from what happened yesterday. Yesterday morning his aunt and uncle woke to find that their prized rose bushes were dead. So what do they do? Do they call a nursery to replace them? No. Do they try to find the problem? No. Do they blame him? Yes, yes they did. That was how Harry found himself being dragged outside and forced to endure a yelling Uncle Vernon. To be honest it wasn't that bad at least he wasn't beaten this time. He was however only allowed one meal each day for the next three days. He hoped he could stay awake during class. He just didn't have the energy to keep his eyes open, so when he was picked by the teacher to show this new kid around school he was quite confused. Until his teacher threatened to send a note to the Dursleys. Then he understood, his aunt and uncle talked to the teacher and told her about how he was a horrid child. Always getting into fights, doing drugs, and probably anything else they could think of. None of it was true however. The bruises came from beatings his uncle, aunt, and cousin gave him. His unhealthy appearance came from not being able to eat enough. Everything that they told the school was so that they wouldn't believe Harry if he decided to tell someone. And the worst part was that it worked. The teachers all treated him like trash and the one time he had actually told someone about his life with his relatives, the Dursleys sent him off with a story of Harry being a habitual liar and handful of cash for his concern. After the man left Harry had received the worst beating of his life. He was sure that his uncle broke his arm. It still twinged every once in a while even after two years. He knew that he didn't want his aunt and uncle to get a note from the teacher that was for sure. So he would suck it up and do his best. After all he wanted to be able to eat more than once a day at some point in the near future.

The bell finally rang. Harry let out a sight of relief. He now had an hour and a half to relax without the teacher watching his every move. Then someone walked up next to him. Oh that's right he was the new kids guide. Joy. "Hello, I'm Merlyn, Merlyn Ashwood." The new kid said. Well let's get this over with, "Hello. I'm Harry, Harry Potter." He told the new kid. They just looked at each other for a minute.

Merlyn wondered what was up with this guy. He looked tired and sick, the teachers seemed to hate him, and judging by the fact that no one was sitting near him the students didn't like him either. 'I wonder why the teacher made him, of all people my guide?' Merlyn thought to himself. "So...what happens now?" Merlyn asked as he had never been in public school before.

"What do you mean? It's break." Harry responded.

"Oh. So what do we do during break?" Merlyn asked making Harry look at him like he was daft. Merlyn thought he might as well explain. "I have been home schooled. This is my first time in a public school." A look of comprehension crossed Harry's face.

"I see. Normally during break you eat your lunch and then play outside. You can eat your lunch wherever you want just so long as you are back at twelve thirty." Harry explained.

'Well that seems nice. But then why is Harry sitting here not eating.' Merlyn thought to himself. "So where do you like to eat?"

"Here." Harry replied.

"Really?" Merlyn asked in disbelief.

"I like it here." Harry said with a shrug. Maybe if he was just rude enough this kid would stop talking to him. If he didn't Dudley would certainly pound this kid into the ground. Harry hated seeing people hurt especially when they were hurt just for talking to him.

'Bullshit.' Merlyn thought. 'There is no way this kid likes it here. After the way the teacher threatened him there is just no way.' "Alright well might as well start on lunch then, don't want to waste any time." Merlyn said with a smile. As he was unpacking his lunch he noticed that Harry hadn't made a move for his bag. "Aren't you going to eat?" He asked.

"I'm not really hungry." Harry answered shortly. But his stomach gave him away with a loud rumble.

Merlyn chuckled. "Not hungry huh?" Merlyn asked calling him out on his lie. Merlyn then grabbed Harry's bag to fish his lunch out for him. Starving yourself was never a good thing and it looked like Harry starved himself a lot. "You have got to eat." He said as he opened the bag only to find beat up books. No lunch, no food at all. What the hell. Where is his food. Harry then grabbed the bag back.

"Hey! It's not polite to go through other peoples things!" Harry shouted at Merlyn. "Great just what I need. Another bully.' Harry thought.

"Whoa, hold on there I was just going to grab your lunch." Merlyn tried to explain.

"As you can see I obviously don't have a lunch to steal so just" Harry began but was unable to finish as Merlyn cut him off.

"Whoa there, calm down a second. I wasn't going to steal your lunch. I was going to get it out for you. You are obviously hungry and you aren't looking tough by ignoring it. Besides it isn't healthy to skip a meal." Merlyn said his hands raised. He was just trying to help the guy after all. Harry looked properly chastised. "Hey, why didn't you just tell me you forgot your lunch. It's not a big deal. Here." Merlyn said pushing their desks together. "Why don't you share mine with me." He said giving Harry a smile.

Harry was stunned. He had been trying to get rid of this kid. He had been rude and even yelled at him but he just stuck around. Maybe this Merlyn wasn't so bad. But if he shared his lunch then Dudley would beat him up for sure. And he couldn't let that happen. "Thank you, but I can't let you do that."

Merlyn was confused this kid has to be starving and he is saying no. Not just no but no to dads food! "Hey I didn't poison it or anything. It should be really good. My dad made it after all and he is the best cook there is." John said proudly.

Harry just shook his head. "No, you don't understand if people see you being nice to me something bad will happen to you."

"Really?" Merlyn asked. "What bad thing will happen to me?"

"My cousin Dudley." Harry told him. "He is the biggest kid in school and he doesn't really like me. So nobody else is allowed to either." Harry said sadly hanging his head.

"Wait just because he is the biggest no one can be your friend. That is just stupid if you ask me." Merlyn said with a laugh.

"Look he is kind of the school bully so kids just don't want to get on his bad side. And unfortunately I am a one way ticket to his bad side." Harry told him still looking down at his desk. Harry heard Merlyn's chair get moved back and figured that he had finally gotten through to him. It was nice though having someone be kind to him even if it was only for a few minutes. Harry then took a deep breath and was about to go to a safe little hiding spot that he found last year. He really hoped Dudley didn't find this one. Before Harry could stand up however there was a sudden thump on his desk and it startled him so much that he almost fell off his chair. Once he regained control of his breathing he looked up and was shocked to see the smiling face of Merlyn.

Merlyn was holding onto his lunchbox that he just slammed down on Harry's desk. "I don't let anyone tell me who I can and can't be friends with. So go on ahead and eat your cousin can shove it." Merlyn told an astounded Harry.

Harry was stunned. No one said that about his cousin. He just nodded and promised himself that when Dudley came for Merlyn he would take the beating in his place. Harry slowly opened the lunch box and gasped. There was a three course meal in it. There was chicken soup, a large portion of shepherds pie, and to top it all off a slice of some sort of pie for dessert. "Wow." Harry breathed. "Your dad mad all of this?" Merlyn just nodded.

"Well he only made it because it's my first day. He said from now on I would be making my own lunch. Though I wish he would continue making them." Merlyn told Harry. Harry gained a rather somber expression while listening to Merlyn.

"I can't take this. Your dad made it and he won't make any more for you I can't accept this. Thank you though." and he meant it. Yes he was hungry, yes the food smelled delicious, but this was a special lunch and he wouldn't take it from Merlyn.

"What are you talking about? Of course you can accept it don't be thick. It's only leftovers from last night."

Wait...what? These were leftovers?! Harry was blown away. There is no way. The food in front of him could have come from a fancy restaurant. And these are the leftovers. Harry shook his head. Either way it didn't seem like Merlyn would back down so he lifted the lid on the soup and dug right in. The moment the soup touched his lips he was in heaven. This was the best thing he had tasted in his entire life. Once he finished the soup he started on the shepherds pie. Nope he was wrong. This was the best thing he ever tasted. The meat and potatoes were making love to his stomach. He was no longer tired, he felt energetic for the first time in a long while. Harry simply wolfed it all down before moving on to the pie. He had no idea what it was but everything else was delicious so once again he dived in. Harry was not disappointed as he took his first bite of turtle pie. The softness of the cheesecake with the sweetness of the caramel and the savory bitter dark chocolate made for what he believed to be perfection. Harry for possibly the first time in his life was full. "Wow. Thank you Merlyn that was de-hic." Harry began until the hiccups started. Then he just laughed. Merlyn soon joined in.

God Merlyn thought as he watched Harry eat. He is taking it in like a vacuum. Do his parents not feed him or something. The moment Harry started to hiccup though Merlyn nearly lost it. He didn't know why it was so funny but Harry trying to laugh while hiccuping was hilarious. Merlyn quickly reached into a bag and grabbed a thermos and poured Harry a cup of black tea. He downed it quickly to kill his hiccups. Merlyn continued to chuckle as he took a couple of gulps from his thermos. "Alright, feeling better?" He asked Harry.

Harry let out a contented breath "Better than ever. Thank you. You didn't have to do it." He said shyly.

"Ah, don't worry about it. So let's pack up and head outside." Merlyn said as he started to put everything up.

Oh no. If we go outside Dudley will be sure to find out. "Um, Merlyn..."

"What is it. And just call me Lynn."

"I don't really feel like going outside today. I think I'll just go to the library. But you should go have fun." Harry said a little dejectedly. He liked Lynn. He was nice to him and didn't seem to care about Dudley. Harry didn't know what that said about his intelligence but it was nice to have a friend. Now that he thought about it his first friend. And Harry was going to enjoy it for as long as it lasted, which probably meant until Dudley found out he admitted sadly.

Merlyn could tell that something was wrong and it wasn't that Harry didn't want to go outside. He liked Harry he seemed like a nice guy. Albeit one who has been picked on and abused. He had heard about different ways to abuse someone from his mom when they were trying to bring back his memory. It never worked and if Merlyn was honest with himself he was glad he couldn't remember. Abuse no matter what form it took was horrible and if it had indeed happened to him he did not want to remember. But looking at Harry now. He remembered what he looked like the morning after his parents found him and Harry looked far worse then he ever had. "Okay well then lets head to the library." Merlyn said startling Harry, who at this point could only nod. The two boys then spent the remainder of the break in the library talking. They mostly talked about Merlyn and his family. Harry seemed to deflect most of the questions that Merlyn had asked him. He didn't push but it did seem a bit odd to him. The rest of the day went by rather quickly. It was rather boring, however Merlyn did have to admit that he did learn something. His teacher was a jerk.

John and Maria were waiting just outside of the school doors as it turned three o'clock. The school bell went off and almost instantly an ocean of students emerged from the front doors of the school. John and Maria started to look around frantically for their son but couldn't find him in the sea the students. "Lynn!" Maria called out.

"I'm right here mom!" Merlyn cried out over the noise. Causing Maria to nearly jump out of her skin.

"Let's get out of here." The Ashwoods then made their way to the car and went home. "So how was school?" John asked while working his way out of the parking lot.

"It was horrible. The teacher is mean and stupid. You two are way better." Merlyn said making his parents smile.

"We know that it is an adjustment just give it some time. Your teacher isn't really all that bad is she?" Maria asked.

"Yes. She yelled at me for being late." Merlyn told her.

"But you were on time. We were there." Maria said starting to get a little upset.

"She said that I needed to be in my seat when the bell rang." Merlyn said.

"Oh, well I suppose but she really shouldn't have yelled at you. Don't worry we will be earlier tomorrow." Maria said trying to mend a bridge for his teacher. She couldn't really be that bad she is a teacher for heavens sake. "Did anything else happen today?"

"No it was pretty boring." Merlyn answered while thinking about his first friend. He surprised himself when he realized that he was actually looking forward to tomorrow.

The next few weeks went rather similarly to his first day. However he did start to always pack two lunches when Harry forgot his again on the second day. They spent their break in the library talking or playing a card game. After the first few weeks Merlyn started to push Harry a little bit. In fact after a couple of days of guilt tripping Harry they actually went outside during break.

"Come on. We have spent the last few weeks in this boring library. Lets go outside today. We can play some football." Merlyn said trying to convince his friend, who to be fair he still did not know much about but he would. Harry was just too nice a guy not to like. He obviously didn't have money, but he seemed to have a lot of heart. One day they were walking down the hall to the library when a little girl came running the other way tripped Harry ran over to help her.

"Here let me help you up." Harry said. The girl looked to be on the verge of crying. But Harry seemed to know exactly what to do. He gave her a hug. She hugged him right back. "There now doesn't it feel better after a hug?" the girl nodded in response. Unfortunately it was then that their teacher, Ms. Pritchard, decided to come into the hallway.

"You Potter!" She snarled striding over to the two "Get away from that girl this instant!" When she got to them Ms. Pritchard grabbed Harry roughly by the arm and practically threw him across the hall. Harry landed on his butt. The little girl tried to go to him but Ms. Pritchard grabbed her by the hand and led her away while telling the girl to stay away from that Potter boy. Merlyn ran over to Harry to help him up. Harry just shrugged off the whole thing as if he was used to the treatment.

"What was that?" Merlyn asked.

"What was what?"

"She threw you. Shouldn't we be you know telling someone. She isn't allowed to do that."

"Just let it go." Harry told him. "Besides I've had way worse from my uncle anyway." Harry said under his breath not intending for Merlyn to hear. But he did. Merlyn wanted to say something however they had only been friends for a few weeks so he didn't think that it was his place. And besides it was obvious that Harry didn't mean for him to hear it so he would respect Harry's privacy. For now anyways.

That was all a couple of days ago. Today they were heading outside for the first time. Merlyn was looking forward to it. He would finally be able to play soccer with someone other than his parents. Not that they were bad. The problem was that they were just too good. Especially his dad, and on top of that they would never go easy on him. They always told him that if they went easy on him that he would never get any better. They were right of course. The one time he actually played with kids his own age he dominated. Unfortunately after a few games no one wanted to play on the opposing team anymore so he was politely asked to leave. His parents got into an argument with the other parents saying that they can't do this. They simply said that these are just fun matches and the other kids weren't having fun playing against Merlyn. His parents explained the situation to him. He just didn't get it. When he looses at something he works hard to get better not complain that his opponent was too good. That was one reason he never made any friends before almost everyone he met thought that way and he just didn't like it. Until he met Harry. 'Lets see how you think Harry.' Merlyn thought to himself. He needed to see what his friend was made of. Would he give up or keep going. Before they went out they visited the gym to pick up a football. When they opened the doors they were assaulted with the noise of the playground.

"Whoa, it is loud out here." Merlyn said dryly to Harry who just chuckled. "Hey there is a field over there. Ready to play?" Merlyn asked with a grin.

"I don't really know how." Harry told his friend sadly. "I could just watch." He put forth trying not to ruin his friends time outside.

"Don't be silly that just means that I have to teach you." Merlyn told him. He then took off toward the field with Harry following him.

They had a whole hour to play and Merlyn planned to use every moment of it. It was actually a lot of fun teaching Harry how to play. Although they never actually got around to having a game they had a blast just running around kicking the ball to each other.

"Damn, Harry" Heaved Merlyn, "You're pretty good. I didn't expect that from someone who has never played before." Merlyn said giving Harry a pointed look.

"Well I haven't played." Harry said innocently while trying to keep a grin from his face. "I may have watched a hundred or two games though." He said with a laugh and letting the grin come. He then just realized where they were. Dudley could see them at any minute if he hadn't already. He looked around but there was no sign of him. Harry breathed out a sigh of relief. He had let himself relax and have fun and nothing bad happened. This was a good day.

They didn't go back out during break for another couple of weeks. Harry just wanted to go back to the library but Merlyn wouldn't go back in there if he could help it. The librarian gave him the creeps. So Merlyn and Harry started to just explore the school. They had to keep out of sight of the teachers or they would get in trouble. Harry was extremely nervous the first time. But every day he became a little more confident and a little bolder. Merlyn just looked at his best friend. There was no way in hell that Harry would be doing any of this when they first met. Sure he still looked unhealthy but at least he had a smile on now. Today was going to be exciting Merlyn hadn't told Harry about his plan but once they got upstairs he would. Once they reached the second landing Merlyn put his bag down and reached inside.

Harry watched his best friend digging through his bag wondering what on earth he was looking for. That was until Merlyn pulled out three water balloons.

"Merlin!" Harry hissed. "What do you think you are doing?"

"Having some fun. With any luck they will get Ms. Pritchard." Merlyn replied in a conspiratorial whisper.

"We will get into so much trouble! We can't do this." Harry tried to reason with him.

"We will only get in trouble if we are caught." Merlyn said. "Look, we tie a string around the end and then loosely tape it to the underside of the railing. I timed it out last night. Trust me." Merlyn shot his best friend a grin.

"Merlyn this is not right. It's down right mean!" Harry scolded not believing what his best friend was about to do.

"Actually it's not. Picking on someone is mean. Pranking someone at random is not. Besides it might not hit anyone at all. And think about it hitting Ms. Pritchard." Merlyn said giving Harry a grin.

"Alright but it better not hurt anyone." Harry said now getting into the spirit at the thought of Ms. Pritchard getting hit with a water balloon.

"Okay. It's all set now we hide and watch the fun." Merlyn said as they went back downstairs.

Merlyn looked at his watch it was almost time for the bell to ring which means that Ms. Pritchard would be coming out of the teachers lounge soon. He thought about what Harry said and decided that when it came to Ms. Pritchard he was willing to be a little mean. Merlyn lifted his palm and took a deep breath. He had never done this over such a distance but he thought he could do it. Just a simple tug that's all the balloons needed to fall. As he released his breath the tingling pulsing came. Over time the tingling had become less a tingle and more of a soothing pulse. The halls started filling with students as everyone was trying to get to class. Then the door to the teachers lounge opened and there she was. Pull. All three of the balloons started racing toward the floor. They were going to miss until an unsuspecting Ms. Pritchard stepped right underneath them. Splash. Water went everywhere. Especially all over a certain bitch of a teacher. Everyone just stopped and stared. Then someone started to laugh. That one laugh set off the entire student population. Everyone was laughing at the water logged teacher. Especially two young boys that were hiding just around the corner. However everyone became deathly silent when the same water logged teach screamed. Everyone from every grade and every class bolted. Harry and Merlyn had a hard time finding the way to their classroom but they knew that they needed to or face the wrath of a wet Ms. Pritchard.

Over the next few months they explored the school and of course pulled more pranks. They never targeted anyone, it all depended on who was at the wrong place at the right time. It was mere coincidence that Ms. Pritchard seemed to be at those places more than anyone else. But it wasn't all pranking. One day they found their way onto the roof and decided that it was a nice place to be so when they just wanted to relax they would bring their lunches up there and watch the clouds.

One day Harry was heading up to the roof when he was stopped by Merlyn. "What's up?" Harry asked.

"Lets take a break today. I could use some exercise. Come on, lets grab the football." Merlyn said as he turned and headed for the gym.

Harry felt like he owed Merlyn this one. After all they had been kind of keeping to themselves. And besides it was fun last time. Once they got the ball they headed outside to the same field that they used last time.

Merlyn looked around and noticed that there were a lot of idle kids all around the playground. So he might as well invite them to play. "Hey everyone football in the field! We need players! All are welcome!" He shouted. Harry looked like he was punched in the gut. "Hey, Harry don't worry. This will be fun. Trust me." Merlyn said and Harry seemed to calm down. By the time they got to the field they had about ten people. Five on five was pretty good.

By the time they got there Harry was feeling better. After all they were in a group maybe Dudley wouldn't see him. 'Yea think positive Harry' he thought. And he did right up until he turned around and standing right there was his cousin Dudley with his gang right behind him. Harry gulped when he saw the look his cousin was giving him. This was the main reason he didn't play sports. When they played sports together he tended to end up hurt. Really hurt. Like arm broken hurt. And all Dudley had to do was say it was an accident. That it was all part of the game and he will be off the hook. Harry was about to leave when he looked at Merlyn. He couldn't leave his best friend to the likes of Dudley and his gang. He would stay and deal with the pain that was coming.

Merlyn saw the look of fear on his best friends face. He wondered what had happened until he noticed Dudley and his group of idiots. Harry had pointed them out to him a few months ago so that he would know to stay away from them. He wasn't afraid of them though his mom had drilled those self defense lessons into his brain and muscles to the point that he thought he could take care of these guys in his sleep. His mom did see fit to remind him that if he was ever attacked to try to run first. The goal was to stay alive not kick someones ass. Merlyn knew very well his limitations courtesy once again of his mom. She had made sure of it. Taking on someone you can't beat is stupid. She always said that if you enter a fight you can't win you were an idiot. Merlyn had been watching this little gang of Dudley's for a month now. And he was sure he was going to win this fight. Honestly he was ready a week ago but it took this long to get Harry to play football again. And he needed the excuse of playing a sport so that he wouldn't get in trouble. As he always seemed to tell Harry you only get in trouble if you get caught so you better learn to hide. Today he would be hiding behind football. Merlyn was about to form the teams when Dudley decided to take over.

"Right, everyone listen up. Both me and Pierce are the caip'ns got it?" Dudley announced. Everyone just nodded knowing not to disagree with Dudley. Everyone that is except for Merlyn.

"Hey tubby!" Merlyn called out. Silence filled the air. Thoughts running through the kids heads, 'What did he just do?', 'He is so dead.' Harry was just shell shocked he had specifically told Lynn not to become a target for Dudley and now he had done just that. Merlyn didn't care everything was going according to plan. According to his dad you can control crowds, manipulate minds, and make the world turn so long as you have a plan and execute it flawlessly. Now while Merlyn was no where near his dad's level. He leaned enough to control this conversation. "You see this." He said holding up the ball. "I have the ball. That automatically makes me a team captain. But I suppose you could be the other." He gave him just one more jab to make sure Dudley would try something. Another piece of advice from his mom. Never be the aggressor. You have to let the other guy make the first move. Attacking someone was never right, however defending yourself or someone else was always a good thing. "As I am the one with the ball I will pick first. Harry." That should do it. Everyone was shocked before now they were flabbergasted. No one picked Harry. Not because he wasn't any good, but because of Dudley. Everyone there had the same thought, 'This kid obviously had a death wish.'

"Fine take my puny cousin." Dudley sniped. "I choose Piers."

Merlyn didn't know anyone else's name so he just pointed to a random person who wasn't part of Dudley's gang. "What's your name?" Merlyn asked.

"George"

"Alright, I pick George." And it continued until the two teams were formed. One made up from Dudley and his gang, the other consisting of Merlyn, Harry, and everyone else. Now the fun begins.

The game started off just like any other and now Merlyn had control of the ball running toward the goal. That is until a large smiling Dudley decided to try to stop him. Merlyn grinned, everything was going according to plan. Merlyn kicked the ball between the big guy's legs and spun around him before continuing on sparing the brute a small glance only to see him go red in the face. Apparently he isn't used to people beating him. During the next half hour of play Dudley went after Merlyn constantly. Each time however, with a little help from Merlyn, Dudley found himself either on his face or his ass. Merlyn just watched as Dudley got angrier and angrier. It was rather funny, his large round face getting red.

Merlyn had just stolen the ball away from Piers and started looking around for Dudley. But he wasn't anywhere. 'Where are you?' he thought to himself as he continued to run down the field. Then his eye's widened. He had found Dudley, charging right for Harry. 'No. This is not part of the plan. I made fun of him for a reason so why isn't he still trying to hit me.' Harry wasn't looking in Dudley's direction instead keeping his eye's on the ball. He knew he couldn't make it in time so he did the only thing he could think of. He kicked the ball. He kicked the ball as hard as he possibly could.

Harry saw Merlyn kick the ball towards him, but he kicked to hard and to high. The ball was going to land far behind him. He still needed to try to get to it. He turned around and found himself looking at a charging Dudley. Harry froze. Right before Dudley got to him the football hit his cousin smack dab in the middle of his face. Everything seemed to go quiet as Dudley collapsed apparently unconscious. Then he started to be able to hear again his team was yelling at him to go for the goal. He looked down and there was the ball so Harry went for it. He dribbled the ball down the field and kicked it to make the first goal of his life. His entire team cheered and crowded around him. Everyone was cheering and celebrating. Nobody ever beat Dudley or his gang at anything. They were just to big and strong. But not anymore.

Merlyn made his way to Harry. He figured that now was probably a very good time to head back inside. They did still have half an hour of break left but the best time for Dudley to wake up was when they were not around. "Hey great shot Harry! That was awesome!" He then motioned to the limp form of Dudley Dursley, "I think we should head to the roof." Harry's eyes got a little wide and he nodded quickly.

Once they made it to the roof they both collapsed. Harry just looked at his best friend and smiled. Harry might keep quiet in class, he may make bad grades, but he was not stupid. He kept quiet to not get noticed by Ms. Pritchard, he made sure to get bad grades so he wouldn't get punished for doing better than Dudley, neither of those things meant that he was stupid far from it. It might have taken him a bit but he eventually noticed what was going on. He new his best friend was clever but this was on a whole new level. Lynn intentionally provoked Dudley just to make sure Dudley went after him and not Harry. He then thought about how every time Dudley went at Lynn he ended up on the ground. And finally that pass to him. Now Harry admittedly had only played football with him once before and a miss is one thing but Lynn was really good, and while he missed he shouldn't have missed by more than a meter or so and certainly not three. His whole plan was to teach his cousin a lesson. Harry couldn't be more thankful to his best friend. But that didn't mean he couldn't have a little harmless fun. "Boy that was fun wasn't it?" Harry asked.

"Yep. See I told you football is fun." Merlyn said.

"You're right, what can I say. Oh, and thanks for what you did with Dudley."

"No prob..."Merlyn started but then realized what happened. "Damn, how did you figure it out?"

"I'm not stupid Lynn." Harry laughed as he began to explain his reasoning.

After hearing Harry's thought process Merlyn started laughing. "Well I never thought you were but I'm still a little shocked." Merlyn laughed out.

"My favorite part had to be the football to the face. That was the best shot I have ever seen!" Harry exclaimed.

"Actually that was luck. I mean I tried to but it was mostly luck." Merlyn admitted. He then realized that they had been up here for a while and checked his watch. "Oh shit. We need to head back before Ms. Pritchard throws a fit." They headed back to class. They did manage to catch Dudley's gang dragging him to the nurse's office. That put a smile on their faces.

It has been a couple of months since the football game. And Harry had to admit that his life had gotten a little better at least it had at school. Dudley didn't stay away from him precisely he just never seemed to notice him. Which for Harry was a big step up. He was actually happy for the first time in his life.

Merlyn had been enjoying the last few months as well. They had stepped up their pranks as well. It has been a blast. Since that first football game they now spent a lot more of their break outside playing. They had also apparently inspired other students into becoming pranksters. In fact just the previous day someone had turned Ms. Pritchard's wig blue. It was a beautiful prank and God help him he was jealous. Neither he nor Harry had any idea who did it. None the less, they were happy that it happened she was being rather pissy yesterday. He wish he knew how it was done. So many possibilities. Both he and Harry were going to try to figure it out during break today. He got to class before Harry which was a little odd normally Harry was waiting for him to arrive. It probably wasn't anything bad though Harry did get here after him every once in a while. Harry did eventually walk in right before the bell and took his seat. Merlyn now knew something was wrong. Harry didn't say hi, wave, or even look at him. Something was definitely up. He would have to find out during break.

It took forever but eventually the break bell sounded. Finally he could figure out what was up with Harry. Merlyn followed Harry into the hall and called to him. "Harry! Hey Harry!" But he just kept walking. What the hell, his best friend was ignoring him. Oh hell no, if something happened he sure as all hell wanted to know about it. Merlyn quickly caught up to Harry put a hand on his shoulder and turned him around so they were face to face.

"Hey Harry wha...Is that a black eye!?"

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed it.**

 **Please review.**

 **Thank you.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hello again everyone. Here is chapter 7. Enjoy.**

"Hey Harry wha...Is that a black eye!?" Merlyn wasted no time in grabbing Harry's arm and dragging him up the stairs towards the roof. The moment they arrived Merlyn shut the door and turned to face his friend. "What happened!? That's a black eye!" Merlyn then noticed the look on Harry's face, it was sad and defeated. "What happened Harry?" Merlyn asked in a softer voice.

"It was nothing just an accident." Harry told him before turning back toward the door to leave.

"Bullshit! That's a black eye! You don't get one by accident!" Merlyn shouted. He continued after a deep breath to calm him down "Harry I'm your best friend. Please, please tell me what happened. I can help you."

"No you can't! No one can!" Harry shouted back.

"Well we don't know that until you tell me what happened!?" Merlyn continued

"Yes I do. I tried to tell someone!" Harry yelled before taking a breath. "Merlyn I told a teacher. He came to my house to talk to my aunt and uncle. They told him that I get into fights and that I was a liar. They gave the guy some money and he left. Then my uncle gave me the worst beating of my life. I don't want to go through that again."

"Wait! Your uncle did this to you?" Merlyn asked. His mind was racing, what on earth was going on in Harry's house.

"Kind of." Harry sighed. "I mean he did but he didn't punch my face. He doesn't punch me where people could see. This," Harry continued gesturing to his eye, "is from when he threw me into my cupboard. I hit a shelf I made and..." Harry ended with a shrug.

"Harry how often does he do this!? And wait, what do you mean 'your cupboard'?" Merlyn was having a very hard time keeping his cool. He knew he had to get the rest of the story out of Merlyn.

"Well..." Harry paused. This was it he was going to finally tell someone else. But this was his best friend. He could tell him right? Even if he couldn't do anything about it, it felt good. And Lynn wouldn't tell anyone, he knew he would be beaten again and Lynn wouldn't want that. "I only get beat two or three times a week. And as for 'my cupboard' it is where I live. When I am not doing chores I am locked in my cupboard." At the look of horror on Lynn's face he quickly tried to set his friend at ease. "Hey it's not so bad. I mean while I'm in my cupboard I'm not being beaten or chased by Dudley and his gang." This unfortunately did not lessen the look of horror on his friends face. In fact the look intensified. Harry was starting to panic. 'Oh no! He is going to tell someone I just know it!' "Lynn, you can't tell anyone! Please promise me!"

Merlyn didn't know what to do. He couldn't keep quiet about this. But Harry was his best friend. His parents always told him that sometimes you have to sacrifice things for the people you cared about. And Merlyn knew he cared about Harry. He had even started to think about Harry as the brother he never had. He couldn't let his brother continue to go through this. If he told someone he had a feeling that their friendship would be over. With a deep breath Merlyn decided what he needed to do. Harry was right, there was nothing he could do to help, but he did know someone who could. Merlyn couldn't even look at Harry as he walked back inside.

Once the door closed behind Merlyn, Harry collapsed as tears started pouring from his eyes. What had just happened? Lynn had just walked away from him. His best friend. Why? Did he just loose his best friend? This was far worse than any punishment his uncle had ever given him. Harry had never truly cared about anyone, at least not like this. No one had ever been there for him like Lynn. He had come to care more for Lynn than anyone else. He had even begun to think of Lynn as the brother he never had. He certainly acted more like family than his aunt, uncle, or cousin ever did. Apparently Merlyn didn't feel the same.

After Merlyn shut the door he slid down the wall. 'I have to be the worst friend in the history of friends.' Merlyn thought sadly. How could he not notice? His best friend was being constantly beaten. He lived locked in a cupboard under the stairs. Not to mention god knows what else his family did to him. As he thought about Harry's problem he couldn't help remembering the day that they met and the lunch that Harry had 'forgot'. Hell all of the times that Harry 'forgot' his lunch. He was being bloody starved!

It took a few minutes for Merlyn to regain control of himself. The more he thought about it the more he realized that Harry was right. There was not a single thing he could do to help. But he knew a certain aunt of his that could. Merlyn might not have been a good friend before but that was about to change. Right here. Right now. With a new resolve that he had never felt before he picked himself ran to the office. "Excuse me." He said trying to get the office lady's attention.

"Yes, how can I help you?" The lady asked in a sickly sweet voice.

"I need to call my mom." Merlyn told her.

"Oh, I'm sorry sweetie but students aren't alowed to make calls." She told him with a smile.

"Please. It's really important." Merlyn tried.

"No I'm Sorry." The lady said the smile still on her face.

Merlyn left the office dejectedly. He needed to call his mom. There had to be a way. And then it hit him, there was a pay phone in front of the school. He just had to get to it and make a call before someone saw him. He didn't have a lot of time. Merlyn knew that the only way to leave was to get past the office lady. He looked around there had to be a way to get her away from her desk. When Merlyn peered down the hallway he saw there was a ladder leaning against the wall. He then hid himself so that when the time was right he could run out the door. Merlyn was a little nervous he had never used his gift on something as large as a ladder before. But it's not like he had to pick it up just knock it over. He had to do this, for Harry. Taking a deep breath he brought out that tingling pulse. With each pulse it increased in intensity. Merlyn held onto it until he didn't think he could take anymore and released all the energy at the ladder. The ladder practically flew down the hallway banging into practically everything much to Merlyn's shock. Everyone ran out into the hall to find the source of the noise. The office lady flew towards the ladder to see what happened. Merlyn came out of his shock when the office lady started yelling at everyone to go about their business. This was his chance and he needed to take it. Merlyn ran outside as quickly as he could. He shoved a 50 pence piece in the phone and called home.

"Hello," His mom's voice said. Thank god!

"Mom! " Merlyn almost shouted.

"Lynn!? What is it? What's wrong?" Maria asked worry in her voice.

"I need you to come to school." Merlyn got out as quickly as he could. "Please hurry. The office lady wouldn't let me call you so I had to..." he wanted to finish but a the large office lady had grabbed him and pulled him away from the phone.

"What did I tell you! And you left the school you are in so much trouble young man!" The office lady practically shouted at him.

Maria was scared stiff when her son's voice disappeared. Oh no what happened. "Merlyn? Merlyn!" Then she heard some lady screaming at her son. Her son wasn't done talking to her so he had to drop the receiver Maria realized. Someone had dragged her son away! How dare they! "Jonathan!" Maria yelled not quite sure where John was.

"Yes love?" John answered from the back yard.

"Merlyn's in trouble! He was telling me how he needed us at school when someone dragged him away from the phone.

John was silent for a few seconds. Someone was manhandling his son. 'No one hurts my son!' John thought. "Let's go!"

Merlyn was now sitting in the office looking at a rather displeased headmaster. "Well? What do you have to say for yourself young man?" The headmaster asked him.

"I just wanted to call my parents and the lady," Merlyn then pointed at the secretary, "wouldn't let me so I went to the phone booth." It made sense to him. And hopefully his parents would get there soon. The secretary had made him wait twenty minutes until the headmaster was free to talk to him.

"And what about the ladder?" The headmaster asked with a scowl.

"I don't know anything about that." Merlyn answered as innocently as he could.

Just as the headmaster was going to start back in on him his parents came striding into the office. "Lynn!" Maria exclaimed as she ran over to her son and scooped him into a hug. Her boy was safe thank god.

As his wife was tending to their son John turned on the headmaster. "I would like an explanation." John stated with a cold venom soaked voice. "What is going on here? We get a call from our son saying he needs us here and then in the middle of a sentence he is dragged off by some woman. Explain now!" John demanded with all the venom he could muster.

While the headmaster was trying to placate Mr. Ashwood, Maria was being dragged out of the office by her son. "Mom I need your help!"

"What is it honey. Your dad is dealing with those people it will be alright. You won't be coming back here again. Everything will be alright just go grab you things and we will go home."

"No!" Maria was shocked, she knew her son didn't like it here. "Mom, that's not why I called you. It's about my best friend." Now Maria was still. Her son didn't have any friends that she knew of. Not that she didn't ask, cause she did. But he would always be rather vague saying things like, "I met a few people." or "The other kids seem nice."

"You have never mentioned a friend not to mention a best friend. How long have you two been friends?" Maria asked a little hurt that her son never told her.

"Mom I'm sorry that I never told you. I just didn't want you pushing me." Merlyn told her while looking down not liking his mothers hurt tone of voice. "We became friends on my first day during lunch. But that's not the point." Merlyn said looking back into his moms eyes. "Mom I just found out that Harry is being beaten! He goes home every night to do chores, get beaten, and then locked in a cupboard! I can't do anything about it. Please help him!" Merlyn begged as he began crying at the end. "Please Mom! I'll do anything if you help me this once."

Maria was silent. After everything her son just told her how could she refuse. Not that she would refuse someone who needed help anyway but the way her son went on broke her heart. "Honey, come on stop crying of course we will help you. Where is your friend? I think I should talk to him."

"I left him on the roof. After he told me what happened I had to get help and he would have stopped me if he knew. I couldn't just do nothing." Merlyn told her starting to cry again.

Maria stopped. "You left your best friend after he told you all of this?" Merlyn nodded. "Merlyn!" She admonished, "Why would you leave your friend?" Maria had never been so disappointed in her son. In fact she had never been disappointed in him. Until now.

"He was ignoring me all day Mom." With every word Merlyn uttered Maria's disappointment grew. "He knew that I wasn't a good friend. I had to drag him to the roof before he would tell me what's wrong! When he did I realized that if I had been a good friend I would have figured it out a long time ago." Maria's disappointment dissipated instantly. "So I did the only thing I could think of to help. I called you. Please help him! Even if he doesn't want me to be his friend anymore he is still mine!" Merlyn said resolutely. At that moment all of the disappointment she felt turned into pride.

"It's alright honey. Let's just get to your friend and we will figure everything out." Maria told him as they headed towards the roof. When they arrived they found Harry sitting holding his knees to him and crying.

"Harry!" Merlyn yelled out as he ran to his friend.

Harry was feeling terrible. First his uncle beat him and locked him in his cupboard, then his first and only friend was scared off by stories of his life. He always thought this would happen but couldn't stop himself from telling Lynn everything when he dragged him here. When Lynn demanded to knew what was going on he thought that maybe he finally had someone he could lean on when things got really bad. But once again the universe smacked him down. The universe seemed to like doing it almost as much as Dudley. So here he was crying at the loss of his friend at the thought that if he had been strong enough to just hide his pain then he would still have his brother. Harry didn't hear the door to the roof fly open or the following footsteps.

When Merlyn saw the state of his friend he just ran over to him. "Harry! Harry I'm sorry!" Merlyn shouted at his friend as he hugged him tight.

Harry was in shock. His best friend, his brother, was hugging him and saying that he was sorry? What was he sorry for? Harry pulled back and shook his head while wiping away his tears. "What are you sorry about? I'm the one who should be sorry for scaring you by telling you what happens at home. I'm sorry I scared you off. If we can still be friends I promise I won't say anything about it anymore." Harry said desperately trying to get his brother back.

Merlyn was shocked. Harry thought he was scared and didn't want to be his friend anymore. God he felt stupid he never should have left the way he did. This was all his fault. 'Some friend I am. When my best friend needs comfort what do I do? I leave.' Merlyn thought. "Harry what are you talking about? I never stopped being your friend. When you ignored me I thought you didn't want to be my friend anymore. When you told me what happened to you I realized I was a horrible friend. I should have noticed what was going on a long time ago. Can you forgive me?" Merlyn asked as both boys ran at each other and embraced, showing each other that there was nothing to forgive.

Maria just watched this spectacle with a wide smile. These two idiot kids. Getting all upset over something that didn't even happen. Maria just continued to observe the two friends. They acted more like brothers making up than friends. At least one good thing came out of sending Merlyn to this school. That thought brought her back to the present. She needed to talk to Harry. Cough* cough*. This brought the two boys out of it. "Hello there, my name is Maria Ashwood." Maria introduced herself. "What's your name?" she asked.

"I'm Harry Potter." Harry replied. Harry was wondering exactly who she was and what she was doing on the roof.

"I'm Merlyn's mom." Maria added seeing the confused look on Harry's face. "Merlyn told me about what happened to you last night." Harry had a horrified expression on his face and immediately started pleading with Merlyn's mother.

"Please don't tell anyone. If they find out I told I'll get beaten again. Please!" Harry begged his lip twitching.

Maria was livid. She knew she needed to keep a level head but hearing this made her blood boil. "Harry I promise that they will never hurt you again. But I need to know everything. Okay? I promise that I will not leave your side until you are safe."

Harry looked up at this woman and couldn't help but trust her. He had heard all about her from Lynn. He glanced over at Lynn. When Lynn gave him a nod Harry turned back to Maria. He then began to tell her everything. His parents dying in a car crash. His aunt and uncle beating and starving him. How he would get locked up in his cupboard for days. And everything else.

The longer Maria listened the more pissed off she was getting. She was about to blow her top. After she heard everything she knelt down next to Harry and brought him into a comforting hug. She was able to pick him up without any difficulty.

Harry was shocked to say the least the only hug he had received before today had been from Lynn. But those were different from the one that he was currently experiencing. The hugs from Lynn were happy and celebratory. This hug was warmth, comfort, and safety. Harry never wanted to leave Maria's arms.

Maria noticed immediately that Harry was far to light for his age. God how could they starve this boy? She needed to get to John and give Emily a call. As she was walking downstairs she noticed that the boy with his arms around her neck had drifted off to sleep. She wasn't surprised that much crying and emotional turmoil would tire out anyone. Just as they made it down the stairs they could hear John's voice coming from the office.

"How dare you!? First of all you have no right to bar my son from calling home! And second, how dare you manhandle my son! I don't care what you think he did. You have no proof whatsoever! And even if you did it is your duty to tell the parents not administer punishment! As of now my son is no longer a student at this school. And you can expect to hear from my attorney!" John was screaming at the top of his lungs.

Maria didn't move towards the office until she was certain John had finished.. Maria had no wish to wake Harry up he really needed his sleep. At any other time she would be rather turned on by what her husband just did. However now she was so upset and angry that nothing really got through to her. Once her husband was finished she went to join him in the office. "Johnathan." Maria said gaining his attention and letting him know that there was a serious problem apart from the one he just solved. "I need you to call Emily and get her here right now." Her voice was so soft that almost no one could hear her. John knew however that this was bad news. When Maria was upset she yelled, when she was angry she snarled, and when she is ready to kill someone, actually kill someone mind you, she got quiet. John gulped and headed to the phone. No one was going to stop him after what he just did.

"Hello, Surrey police."

"Captain Stalks." John said.

"Right away sir."

"This is Captain Stalks. How may I help you?" Emily asked.

"Emily, it's John. We need you at St. Grogory Primary School in your official capacity. I don't have the full story yet but judging from what I have seen you will need to get here quick. And I mean five minutes ago this is an emergency." John said as quickly as he could.

"Be there in five." Emily said all business and hung up.

John hung up the phone. "She'll be here in five."

Maria then looked at the headmaster. "We need someplace quiet to wait."

The headmaster looked at Maria carrying Harry. "I'm sorry Mrs. Ashwood but that is not your child. I do not know what possessed you to take him but he is in our care. Would you kindly hand him over." The headmaster said trying to gain control of the situation.

Maria stared the headmaster straight in the eye and said "Do not come any closer, sir." Her voice was barely audible. The headmaster mistook her quiet voice for timidness and continued.

"I am sorry but that child needs to come with me." The headmaster said as he took another step toward her. That was as far as he got before a fist slammed against the side of his face sending him into the wall. The headmaster's unconscious body then collapsed.

"Thank you honey." Maria said sparing a smile for her husband. John just stood there with a scowl on his face glaring at the headmaster. Furious that he would dare advance on his wife. The secretary was frozen. She had absolutely no idea what to do. First this man starts screaming at the top of his lungs then his wife comes in carrying that horrible Potter child. Then when the headmaster tries to take that nasty child away the man attacked him. She didn't even try to move hoping that the two would just leave after a bit. She almost cried out of joy when she heard the sound of a police siren pull into the school.

As Emily drove up the driveway to the school she was relieved that at least the school wasn't on fire. But from the sound of John's voice he would probably rather it were than whatever they were dealing with now. She parked and walked inside. The moment she crossed the threshold the woman behind the desk ran over to her.

"Oh thank God your here! These people are crazy they attacked the headmaster! I think they might hurt me. Please help me!" The secretary begged.

Emily just stood there dumbfounded. After a minute she got over her shock at the woman. "Maria, John what is going on?" She asked.

Maria heard her friend and looked up at her. Emily saw her face and knew something was deathly wrong. Emily walked over to her friend. "We need to talk somewhere privately. The nurses office would be appropriate I believe." She said. She then noticed Emily looking at the unconscious headmaster. "No, not him. The boy." Maria said correcting her friends assumption. Emily's eyes widened at that. After a short walk they entered the nurses office. The nurse wasn't there so they just went in and locked the door.

"So what is this about? John made it sound as if you were about to go on a killing spree." Emily asked.

"I still might." Maria said quietly without humor. Emily went ridged. She had not heard her friend like this in a very long time. Something was terribly wrong. "Let me show you." Maria said laying Harry carefully on the bed. John, Merlyn, and Emily watching intently. She gently pried his hands apart and then stood up. "This is why John called you." Maria explained before lifting Harry's shirt. All over Harry's stomach and chest were purple and blue bruises. Emily gasped. What had happened to this poor child? "This is Harry Potter. Before he passed out in my arms he told me everything. So just let him rest for now. I will tell you everything he told me." Maria then let Emily know everything that Harry had told her. With every word Emily was more and more disgusted. By the end she thought that she might throw up. After a few minutes of just staring into space Emily felt a tugging on her arm. When she looked down she saw Merlyn and despite everything gave him a small smile.

"Auntie Em, there is one more thing. The last time Harry told someone his aunt and uncle lied and said that he was a habitual liar and always getting into fights. After the man left they beat him really badly. Please don't let them hurt Harry anymore." Merlyn begged his eyes full of tears. Merlyn hated seeing his friend like this.

Emily put her hand on her nephew's shoulder, "Don't worry Lynn. Those people will never hurt Harry ever again." While she was reassuring Merlyn Maria pulled Harry's hair away from his face and saw the lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead. At Maria's gasp Emily hurried over. When she saw the scar she thought she just might throw up. "It looks like someone took a knife to him!" Emily hissed. "I am going to put these people away. Maria can you take him home with you and get him taken care of. I don't trust anyone here to do it." Maria nodded.

"Wait." Maria said softly to her friend as Emily was leaving. "Can I go with you to see these people?" Maria asked . She wanted them to feel how it felt to get beat black and blue.

"No. Maria even if you were still on the force your too close to this." Emily took a deep breath and continued. "Maria just look at yourself. You are on a razors edge. You are even worse now then you were when you found Lynn. I can't take you with me. I am however giving you temporary custody of Harry until this matter is settled one way or another."

"Emily I promised this little boy that I would not let those people that call themselves his family hurt him again. I plan to keep that promise no matter what." Maria told her best friend.

"Go take Harry to your house and get him patched up. I will call you later and tell you about my investigation. I can do that at least." Maria just nodded and picked up Harry, who instinctively wrapped his arms around her neck. Maria held him tighter in response.

"Come on everyone. We are going home." John said as they all left the nurses office. While Merlyn, and Maria, who was still holding Harry, were getting into the car John had pulled Emily aside. John told her that during the first few days after finding Merlyn, while they had believed that Merlyn was in a situation similar to Harry's, he had come up with a plan to make sure that Merlyn never had to go back to those people. Now he wanted to use the plan to help Harry. After hearing the plan in detail Emily couldn't keep the grin from her face. These horrid people would get exactly what was coming to them.

Harry slept keeping his hold on Maria the entire way home. Everyone else was silent not wanting to wake Harry. They got out and headed inside. Maria carried Harry up the stairs and into the bathroom. "Harry. Harry." Maria whispered trying to wake him up gently. "Harry." She tried again this time touching his shoulder.

Harry gasped and scooted back going into the fetal position with his arms out as if expecting to be hit. "Please don't. I didn't do anything. I promise." Harry whimpered. Maria cringed at hearing this. Emily better give those people what they have coming to them or else she would get John to pull some of his ideas, from back when they found Merlyn, out of the closet.

"Harry, sweetie. It's alright no one is going to hurt you. Remember I promised." Maria said trying to sooth him and not scare him further. After a few minutes of not receiving any hits Harry slowly moved his hands away from his face and looked around. The moment he laid eyes on Maria he jumped up and threw his arms around her. 'Looks like Lynn isn't the only one to think I'm safe.' Maria mused.

Emily quickly made her way back to the station. Where she picked up her partner Rollins since abuse cases can often get violent. It's always good to have back up in cases like this. "Rollins are your ready?"

"Yes, I'm ready. If what you've told me about these people is true then I have to wonder why no one ever came forward before." Rollins said as he stepped out of the car. It was 4 o'clock so the entire family should be here. They would have been informed by the school that Harry Potter was taken and is now in police custody. So they should be expecting a visit today.

"Alright you remember everything you are supposed to do?" Emily asked her partner.

"Yep. Got everything I need." Rollins said.

"Good. Let's go then." Emily said as both her and her partner made their way up the steps to the front door of number four Privet Drive. 'Well here we go.' Emily thought as she knocked. After a few moments she was about to knock again when she heard the lock turn. When the door opened standing before them was a rather round individual. "Mr. Dursley, I presume."

"Yes. Can I help you?" Mr. Dursley asked in a gruff voice.

"Actually you can Mr. Dursley. We have a few questions about one Harry Potter. We were informed that you and your wife are Mr. Potter's guardians. May we come in please?" Emily asked. In her experience it always paid off to do things the polite way. Even if the people you were talking to didn't deserve it. And it is always nice to have a search warrant as an ace in the hole.

"Well it's about time you lot did something about the boy." Mr. Dursley said in his superior tone. "The boy has always been a trouble maker. I can't tell you how glad I am that you finally picked him up. He has been rather violent lately and has been scaring my wife. He deserves some punishment. " Emily tried to keep the smile off her face. This was going rather well so far. "Petunia can you get our guests some tea."

"Of course. What do you take?" Petunia asked.

"Black with a slice of lemon for me please." Rollins answered.

"I am fine, thank you." Emily put in. "Well if that is what you want then all you have to do is sign this and Mr. Potter will be punished as severely as the law will allow. We simply need your signature as well as your wife's." Emily said as she pulled a custody packet out of her pocket.

Vernon grabbed a pen and signed immediately. "So how long till we get the little shit back? The boy has work around here to do." Vernon asked.

"Well you will be asked to come to the police station and have a hand in deciding what will happen to Mr. Potter. Now all we need is your wife's signature and this matter will be taken care of. Normally she didn't approve of such deception. But desperate times call for desperate measures. " Emily told him trying to get the final piece so she could move forward with John's plan. When John had pulled her aside to tell her his plan she was stunned. After all he only had an extra ten minutes or so on her to assess the situation. But none the less his plan was solid. God that man could really be conniving when he set his mind to it. Step one get Harry away from them permanently. "Mrs. Dursley," Emily said to the woman who just walked in with Rollins' tea. "all we need is your signature."

"My signature. For what?" Apparently she had not been paying attention to the conversation.

Damn she needed to find a way to get her to sign without reading the paper. She had a feeling it would not be as easy as her husband. "Mrs. Dursley as I was telling your husband that a Mr. Potter is now in police custody. We need your permission to give Mr. Potter what he deserves." Emily said.

"What did he do?" Petunia asked.

'Shit now what? Harry didn't do anything...But Lynn did. Perfect.' Emily thought. "Well there was an incident at St. Grogory today involving a ladder and some damage to school property. And by signing you are making Harry responsible. Otherwise you will be responsible for damages." She only hoped that they believed her. After all, guardians are always responsible for damages. But Petunia still seemed hesitant. "Well if you don't want to sign that is fine." Emily said reaching for the packet. "You will be receiving a bill for the damages done to the school." Right before she could grab the packet Petunia snatched it away and signed. 'Yes! Step one is done. Now onto step two.' Emily thought. "Very good Mrs. Dursley. Now we can get on with our investigation."

"What investigation? Didn't this happen at school? And when will the boy be back? As I said he has work to do." Vernon Dursley asked a little confused.

"Oh it did, but we like to be thorough. What kind of work Mr. Dursley? Even he is a little young to have a paper route." asked Emily hoping that they would incriminate themselves.

"Nothing like that." Mr. Dursley answered quickly. "Just chores around the house."

Damn, well they're not dumb enough to incriminate themselves after all. Oh well, that is why there was a plan. John certainly was a dastardly fellow when he put his mind to it. "Very good. Now if it is possible I would like to see his room." Emily hoped that they would lead her to the cupboard. "We are looking for evidence of premeditation." She added when the Dursleys showed some reluctance. But they eventually gave in.

"Right this way." Petunia directed. They were heading for the stairs. 'Good, now she will get the evidence she needs to arrest these horrid people. Wait why are they leading us up the stairs. Didn't Maria say they make him live in the cupboard under it?' Emily thought. "Here we are." Petunia said as she opened a door. Inside were a lot of toys. Well broken toys as it looked. The toys were strewn everywhere. To be honest the room looked like a wreck. No wonder the last person to come left convinced that Harry was a bad seed. "This is his room. As you can see we try to give him anything he could want. But he is troubled, he breaks almost everything. It truly is sad." Petunia said. And if Emily didn't know the truth she would have bought it hook line and sinker. These people were good. "He sneaks out every night and causes trouble, gets into fights and the like." Damn they were covering for the bruising already. They have definitely done this before. And by the look of comfort on their faces multiple times.

Emily gave her partner a covert nod. Looks like they would need to be sneaky after all. At least Harry was now safe. "Excuse me. But may I use the restroom?" Rollins asked already knowing that it was on the ground floor.

"Of course." Petunia said. "It is just downstairs.

As Rollins went downstairs Emily continued to talk to both of the Dursleys. She needed to keep both of them up here while her partner did his job downstairs. After a few minutes Rollins came back up the stairs and gave Emily a nod telling her that she wasn't going to like what she found downstairs. "Rollins keep the Dursleys up here while I take a look."

Vernon was catching on to what happened. While Captain Stalks was keeping them busy her partner must have found the cupboard. But why would anyone look there unless...the boy! He had to find a way out of this. "Now hold on just a moment! This is my house!" Vernon yelled his face turning red. That blasted boy! He would kill that damn child! "I want you both out of this house immediately! You can't just go snooping around! It's against the law! I know my rights! None of this is admissible in court without a warrant! Now get out!" By this time his face was a rather deep shade of purple. However while his face was gaining color Petunia's was loosing it rather rapidly.

"Very true Mr. Dursley, very true. Now that you bring it up however." Emily said in a chipper voice as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a warrant to search the premises. God she loved it when people like this got what is coming to them. "Now Rollins do we have enough for an arrest?"

"An arrest! You pitiful little bitch! I'll have my attorney skin you alive!" Vernon screamed as he ran at Emily. Emily quickly grabbed one of Vernon's outstretched arms and twisted behind him pinning him against a wall.

Sometimes they just make this too easy. "Vernon Dursley, you are hereby under arrest. The charges are child abuse, negligence, resisting arrest, and attacking a police officer." Emily spoke calmly as she handcuffed him. She didn't want to give this piece of filth any room to get out of the charges. "Rollins if you please." Emily said nodding at Petunia. "Petunia Dursley, you are hereby under arrest. The charges are child abuse, and negligence." Emily continued on listing their rights. After a short walk out to their police car Emily once again turned to the Dursleys who were now fidgeting in the back seat. "Now Rollins is going to be staying with your son until child services arrives. You will be allowed to talk to him later today when he is brought to the station. Now sit back relax and enjoy the ride." Emily said with a smile. "Rollins while you are looking after the boy make sure to keep him away from the evidence." Rollins gave her a nod. Rollins like his partner loved days like this.

Back at the Ashwood household Harry was wincing. The bandages around his chest hurt. Mrs. Ashwood told him that he had a couple of cracked ribs and that this would help them heal. Harry believed her but that didn't keep it from hurting. Although to be fair it hurt before she put the bandages on too. She had actually gave him a bath. A bath! He never got to bathe. He would get one shower a week at best and that was only when the Dursleys were sick of the smell. He would water himself down with the hose when he was in the yard and the Dursleys weren't looking. Now he was sitting at the kitchen table sipping on orange juice. He found he really liked it. The only time he would get something like this was when he was out with the Dursleys and Dudley didn't like it. And they couldn't just throw it away. So here he was sipping orange juice smelling Mr. Ashwood's cooking. It smelled delicious. He looked up when Mrs. Ashwood took the seat next to him.

"So Harry how are you feeling? Any better?" Maria asked sipping a cup of tea.

"Yes, thank you." Harry answered timidly. He wasn't sure what was going on. If he enjoyed himself too much then he would miss this even more when he was sent back to the Dursley's. All of a sudden the phone started ringing.

"I'll be right back Harry." Maria said as she went to the phone. "Hello. This is Maria."

"Maria, it's Emily. I'm just calling to give you an update. The Dursleys are in custody. You won't believe this but the big bastard actually tried to attack me can you believe it!" Emily started laughing. "They have been booked and are awaiting a hearing. Thank John for me by the way. His plan went off without a hitch. But now I have a problem. You see I now have custody of one Harry Potter. I am afraid that his cousin is being dealt with by child services. After what Lynn told me I thought it best to separate them. But as you know I am not exactly suited for parenthood. I am more of the awesome aunt type. So I was wondering if you would take the kid off my hands?"

Maria was shocked. Happy but shocked at the request. She had to admit that she liked Harry. He was polite, sweet, and not to mention her little Lynn's best friend. But it was no longer just her and Jonathan. Now they had Lynn and they also needed to take Harry's feelings on this into consideration. "Em, I would love to but I need to talk to John, Lynn, and Harry about it first. Can I call you back tomorrow?"

"Sure. Let me know tomorrow. Sorry I won't be able to come over tonight. Processing the Dursley's house and the paperwork that they are giving me is going to keep me at the station for a while. You know what never mind I'll just stop by for breakfast and you can tell me then. Ciao."

Maria slowly put down the receiver. She didn't know what to say or even how to bring it up. She needed to talk to her husband. She went into the kitchen with her husband and walked up behind him wrapping her arms around his waist and laying her head against his back. "John."

"Yes, love?"

"That was Emily. She wanted to thank you for the plan. Apparently it went off without a hitch. But now she has a problem. She wants us to take custody of Harry." She said bringing it up lightly. Maria really wanted him to say yes. In the back of her mind she was thanking God that she had already dealt with all this anger and emotional storm before a little over a year and a half ago when they found Lynn. If she hadn't she would be lost in the sea of emotions. Having gone through this all before she found it easier to keep her head. She new that later tonight the water works would start but for now she could still think. And after watching Harry and Merlyn together she could think that there were no better kids in the world. She was so proud of her son. After he brought her up to the roof and the boys had their little reconciliation Merlyn had never left Harry's side. He had even helped with the bandaging. He didn't even leave during the bath, instead Merlyn just turned his back to give his friend some privacy. Merlyn was definitely protective of Harry that much was certain. Maria had a feeling that there were quite a few stories of what had happened so far this year at school that Lynn hadn't told them. She would just have to pry it out of the boys later. But now it was time to work on her husband. "And you know he is Lynn's best friend. You should have seen how protective he gets over Harry. It is almost as if Harry were his little brother." Emily continued. She didn't feel her husband tense up which was a good sign. "And so I was thinking that maybe we could take Harry in and maybe adopt him." Emily waited and waited. John said nothing just continued his cooking. Maria didn't like it. Oh maybe she should have given him a drink first.

"You do like your strays don't you love?" John replied.

"Well the last one turned out pretty well." Maria answered giving him a squeeze hoping that he was hinting at what she wanted.

"I think we should talk to the boys first. If they like the idea then have them sign the papers." John replied biting his lip. He did love doing this to his wife.

"You're right. I already planned to talk to them I just wanted your okay first." Maria told him.

"Oh, is that all." John said with a chuckle, he just couldn't hold it in. "Then why didn't you just talk to the kids when you saw the papers?

"What papers?" Maria asked looking around. She then saw a stack of papers on the island. She picked up the top page to see what it was and read 'Application for Adoption'. Her eyes went wide as she continued reading. It was all filled out for one Harry Potter to be adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Ashwood. Maria just felt her jaw drop. "What? How? When? Why?" She started babbling.

"Well the what is rather self explanatory. As for the how, they are an extra set I kept from Merlyn's adoption just in case something didn't get filed right and has been in the desk this entire time. I pulled it out and filled it in while you were up stairs. Why? Well I saw the way both you and Merlyn were with the lad. Now I know I haven't really talked to him but if what I saw was any indication he would be a great addition to this family." John explained with a shit eating grin. Maria pounced on him. And gave him the kiss of a lifetime.

"God I love you." She breathed after she broke the kiss.

"Wow!" John exclaimed with a giant smile plastered on his face. "If this is the reaction I get every time we adopt I think we should adopt a few hundred kids." He joked.

"Oh shut up!" Maria said slapping his chest while laughing. "You only get that reaction when we adopt special kids. Like Lynn and Harry."

"We still need to talk to Harry and Merlyn though, don't forget." John reminded her.

"Let's do that now while the food is resting then we can eat." Maria said while leading John to the living room where the kids were still sitting at the table.

Merlyn and Harry were busy talking. "What do you think is going to happen to me? Do you think they will send me back to the Dursley's?" Harry asked a little afraid of the answer.

"No. My Mom, Dad, and Auntie Em are the best. There is no way you will go back there. Come on we can go play until dinner is ready." Merlyn suggested. But Harry wasn't up for playing. He just sat there still deathly afraid of the beating he was going to get when he was forced to go back to the Dursley's.

"Harry. Lynn. We need to talk to the both of you." Maria said while she and her husband took the seats opposite the kids.

'Oh no.' Harry thought. 'This is where they tell me I have to go back.' "Please don't make me go back! I can cook and clean and do the yard work! Please I don't want to go back!" Harry begged as he started to sob. He would go anywhere and do anything to get away from the Dursleys.

Maria sprung up and rushed to Harry's side pulling him into a hug. "Hush now, it's alright you don't have to go back." She said while rubbing Harry's back.

Harry sniffed. "I don't?" Maria shook her head. "You promise?" Harry said hope finding its way into his eyes for the first time in years.

"I promise. Actually that is what we wanted to talk to you about. Both of you actually. A lot has happened today..." Maria told them what happened at the Dursley's with Emily. Well they told them most of it some they didn't need to hear. Like what Harry's uncle was planning to do to him. Harry's uncle was in prison after all and Harry was safe. As she recounted what happened Merlyn's smile grew and grew while Harry looked more shocked by the second. "And so now we have to figure out what to do with you. Now John and I would like for you to stay here with us and Lynn. But we wanted to see how you felt about it before we actually did anything."

Harry was on the verge of crying. They wanted him to stay. They really wanted him to stay. He loved Lynn like a brother already and his parents had been so nice to him already. And now they were offering to take him in. "Yes!" Harry shouted. "I mean yes please. I would like to stay." Harry said again calmly this time.

"Good." Emily said. "Then it is all settled."

"Wait!" Merlyn exclaimed. Maria was shocked she didn't think that her son would have a problem but maybe she was wrong. Merlyn fidgeted a little before asking "Does this mean that Harry is my brother now?"

Maria bit her lip. "Why yes it does. You and Harry are now brothers." She was about to ask if that was alright with the both of them when she was interrupted by both of the young men jumping up and hugging each other while screaming "I have a brother!"

Dinner was a rather boisterous affair that night. Harry was eating as though he would never get another meal. Something Maria and John suspected was a lot closer to the truth in the past then they would like to think. There was a lot of laughing and playing between the two brothers. Normally this wouldn't be allowed but it was a special occasion. After dessert everyone was stuffed and ready for bed. But there was one thing left to do.

"Harry." John said. "There is one more thing we need you to do. You need to sign this piece of paper. Once you do you will officially be a part of this family." Harry snatched the pen from John and wrote his name as quickly as he could as if he was afraid that the paper would disappear if he didn't write fast enough. "There we go you are now officially a member of this family." John smiled with a hand on his new son's shoulder. "I think it's time for bed. You will be sleeping with Merlyn tonight alright?" Harry nodded as he went up stairs and got ready for bed. Just as they finished John and Maria came in to tuck in their children. "Good night kids." John said and right before he closed the door he turned to Harry and said "Welcome home son." and closed the door.

Harry couldn't believe the turn his life had taken today. Yesterday he was being beaten, starved and locked in a cupboard. Today he had a new family who cared for him, a full stomach, and a warm bed in an actual room. Heck he even got to share his bed with his new brother. This was by far the best day of his life. The last thought he had before he fell asleep was 'I'm home.'

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

 **Please let me know what you think with a review.**

 **Thank you.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hello again everyone. Here is chapter 8 with a few minor changes and editing. The big changes and additions will be coming soon. I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

The next morning Harry woke up thinking that he had just had the most amazing dream. He dreamed that he was rescued from the Dursley's by his best friend's family. Not only that but he was adopted by them as well. But that was just a dream and an amazing one at that. He heard the familiar thump of someone coming down the stairs. 'Probably Dudley,' Harry thought. 'I had better hurry up and start breakfast before Uncle Vernon gets mad.' Harry finally opened his eyes and found that he was not in his cupboard. He was in a room, lying down on a large bed with his best friend. No not best friend anymore, now Lynn was his brother. This could only mean that his dream wasn't a dream. It was real. This is the first time he could remember sleeping in the bed. It was incredibly comfortable. So Harry just laid back down and enjoyed the bed for a while. After another ten minutes he could smell Mr. Ashwood's cooking downstairs. He knew it was Mr. Ashwood's because the only people who cooked in this house were Lynn and his father. Harry remembered Lynn telling him about the one and only time his mom had tried to cook. His dad had been sick in bed with the flu and his mom tried to take care of everything. Harry ended up in the hospital getting his stomach pumped. Mrs. Ashwood has not been allowed to cook since then. The moment he was able to smell the cooking so too apparently did his sleeping brother. Merlyn shot right out of bed and out the door. Harry just laughed at him until his brother yelled that he better hurry or there would be none left. Harry, thinking of how the Dursley's fed him, immediately jumped out of bed and followed his brother. When he reached the kitchen Harry realized that Lynn was joking. There was no way that there would be none left. There were at least twenty large pancakes sitting on a plate waiting to be eaten and Mr. Ashwood was still cooking more.

"Mmm, " Merlyn sounded. "I love pancake day. Dad's pancakes are the best."

"Lynn the way you talk everything your dad makes is the best." Harry told him.

"You're wrong Harry." Merlyn said with a serious face. "He's not my dad, he's our dad. And yes everything he makes is the best. You just don't understand yet, but you will." Merlyn finished smiling.

John couldn't help smiling at his boys banter, and especially when Merlyn said that he wasn't his father, he was their father. "So Harry did you sleep well?" Harry tried to tell John how he slept but it came out as mush due to the fact that he had just stuffed a pancake in his mouth. "Hold on there son. Chew, swallow, then talk."

Harry chewed a little more and then swallowed his mouthful with the help of some milk. "I slept very well sir, thank you."

John was taken aback did Harry just call him sir? No one called him sir. He better straighten this boy out right now before he say's that word again. "Harry please don't call me sir."

Harry looked up at John. "Then what should I call you?"

John thought about it for a minute. "Well I would like it if in time you could call me Dad. However I understand if you are not up for that so until then you may call me John. Oh and the same goes for Maria as well, until you feel comfortable calling her Mom you should just call her Maria. Alright?"

Harry nodded. He wouldn't mind calling them Mom and Dad except he wasn't sure what those words meant. So he decided to just wait until it felt right. A few minutes later Harry saw Maria come downstairs with her hair going off in every direction. Honestly it looked really funny. Merlyn tried and failed to hold back a laugh and ended up paying for it. Maria walked over and grabbed one of the pancakes from Lynn's plate and took a big bite before putting it back. "Mom! Stop stealing my food!"

"But I'm hungry." Maria whined playfully.

"There is like ten pancakes right there you don't need mine!" Merlyn berated his mother.

"But they don't taste as good as yours." Maria said with a pout. "Besides you are cute when your angry." Maria said smiling as she pinched his cheek lightly.

"Mom!" At that everyone in the kitchen save Merlyn started to laugh and even he joined in soon after.

After breakfast everyone started to get ready for the day. Harry brushed his teeth with a spare toothbrush and then tried to find his clothes but they were no where to be found. Then Maria walked in the room. "Lynn give Harry some clothes. Harry please make do with Lynn's clothes until we go and get you your own. We will be really busy today so we can go clothes shopping tomorrow, alright?" She asked Harry. Harry just nodded. He was going to get his own clothes! He decided he must still be dreaming and thought about pinching himself but then decided against it. If it really was a dream then he didn't want to wake up from it. Harry quickly got dressed, it was a lot easier with Lynn's clothes than Dudley's. Lynn was still big for their age. He wasn't fat though he was well built he was just a bit taller than everyone else. But these still fit really well when compared to Dudley's old clothes. Harry then headed downstairs looking for his book bag.

John saw Harry looking around and was wondering what was up. "Hey there, son. What are you looking for?"

Harry looked up at John, "I'm looking for my book bag. I can't seem to find it."

"Oh, I think we left it back at St. Grogory's. Was there something important that you need in it?" John asked getting a little tense, he hoped they hadn't left something important at that horrible school.

"No, just by books I don't want to loose them or the teacher will get mad at me." Harry said and John visibly relaxed.

"Ah, I see. Well don't worry about it." John told him.

"But what about when I get to school?" Harry asked.

"Didn't Maria tell you? We withdrew you from that rotten place. You aren't going back there. You and your brother are going to be home schooled." John told his new son. Then at the look of confusion on Harry's face he elaborated. "That means that both Maria and I will be your teachers. Don't worry, Merlyn was home schooled before this year started." John told him to belay his fears. "Why don't you go upstairs and play with your brother your new mom and I have a couple of busy days ahead of us so you and Lynn get a couple of days off. So go have fun and enjoy it." John said with a chuckle.

While Harry and Merlyn celebrated not having to go back to that school John and Maria were hard at work getting the kids room set up. They got rid of the one large bed for a set of bunk beds. They bought two desks, a bookshelf, and a chest for their toys as well. When it got later John had Merlyn start dinner while they were finishing up the room. Dinner was rather quiet that night due to everyone being so tired. John and Maria from working hard and Merlyn and Harry from playing. That night everyone fell asleep rather quickly. The next day John and Maria took their kids into London for some clothes shopping. Harry needed some and Merlyn was outgrowing the clothes they got him last year. The trip turned into huge family outing. Once they finished with the shopping they went all over London.

When they finally pulled into the driveway the two boys were still arguing. The argument wasn't about who gets the top bunk or anything important like that. No, the argument was over which flavor of ice cream was the best. It was funny however they showed no signs of stopping. "Alright boys that is enough." John said with a smile. The boys looked like they were about to continue so John decided it was time for desperate measures, bribery. "Okay, how about this if you guys drop the argument then I will make a very special dessert tonight. How does that sound?" In answer both of the boys kept their mouths shut and nodded vigorously. "Alright. Why don't you go put your new clothes up while I start dinner." The boys didn't even bother answering this time. They just grabbed their bags full of clothing and ran for the stairs.

"Honey, I am going to take a bath and relax." Maria told her husband with a chaste kiss.

"Alright, I'll get dinner started." John said as he headed into the kitchen to start dinner and of course the special desert. John knew what he wanted to make, now he just had to make the flavors work.

After dinner the family was all waiting in the living room as the special desert wasn't done yet. Both Merlyn and Harry were having a grand old time guessing what it could be since John wouldn't tell them. Once a loud beeping came from the kitchen everyone got quiet as John got up and went to get the special dessert. Harry was ecstatic when he saw what John was carrying, Merlyn on the other hand was rather disappointed. Harry gave his brother a look and in a satisfied tone said, "See? I told you strawberry was the best. "

"What are you talking about this isn't strawberry ice cream." John told his sons. Merlyn perked up a little while Harry looked a little crestfallen. "Wow. I figured my cooking had earned a little more faith then this." John said to his wife who was currently trying not to giggle. "This is my special super awesome mint and strawberry ice cream!" John said with all the dramatic ability he could pull forth. It seemed to have the desired effect in that his entire family were laughing at him. "Hurry up and eat it before it melts." He told his kids after they had all calmed down a bit.

Both Harry and Merlyn looked at each other and nodded as they each took a bite. Their eyes lit up instantly. They couldn't believe how amazing this tasted. The moment they swallowed they turned to each other and at the same time said, "This is the best!" before shoveling the remainder into their mouths.

"Where is my super awesome dessert?" Maria asked her husband as he joined her on the couch.

"It's in the freezer. I thought we could have it in bed after we put these little monsters to bed." John said with a smile. Even though it had only been a few day's he already loved Harry just as much as he loved Merlyn. Yes he definitely loved his little monsters and by the look his wife had on her face she felt the exact same way.

Albus Dumbledore was on his way back to Hogwarts after a very long few days at the ministry. Minister Fudge could not seem to do anything by himself. This is the first time he would be able to sleep in his own bed in over four days. The first thing he was going to do when he got back to Hogwarts is have a lemon drop and then take a long soak. Bones as old as his need a good soaking every few days or they rebelled. Once he reached his office door he took a deep breath in preparation for the luxurious evening ahead of him. The moment Albus opened his door he was greeted by a shrill whistle. Dumbledore sighed wondering which particular item of his was going off. 'To bad it isn't the kettle.' Dumbledore thought chuckling. The chuckling ceased when he noticed which of his inventions was going off. It was the ward watcher, as he liked to call it, the one that was tuned to the wards surrounding number four Privet Drive. Dumbledore's face turn white as a ghost. 'No. No. No, how did this happen!?' Dumbledore thought as he rushed out of his office. He had to get to Harry and make sure he was safe. 'Please let Harry still be safe!' Albus repeated over and over again in his head. The precise moment Dumbledore crossed the threshold leaving the Hogwart's grounds he quickly turned and disappeared.

'Merlin's beard! Thank the heaven's it's dark.' Albus thought as he appeared in the middle of the street right in front of number four Privet Drive. Albus quietly cast a few spells to keep the muggles away. He then made his way carefully to the front door wary of any traps that may have been left by any of Voldemort's followers. Dumbledore could not believe the wards failed. They should of only come down under one of two circumstances. One is when young Harry comes of age at seventeen, the other being that he no longer called this place his home. But neither of those should have happened after all the Dursley's still lived here. Didn't they? Albus tried the door but found it to be locked a quick Alohomora took care of that and Dumbledore stepped inside. The house looked alright. There didn't seem to be a struggle there were a few cups on the coffee table in front of the couch however. Dumbledore dipped his finger into one of them to find it rather cold. So it has been a while since anyone has been here. And it seems as if they left in a hurry. So were they running from something or someone? Dumbledore shook his head this was not the time for solving puzzles. First things first, he had to find Harry at all costs. After a few spells told him that no one had indeed been here in over two day's Albus realized that he would need a new starting point. Harry's school! Even if Harry wasn't there at least there were people who might be able to answer a few questions. It looked like the search was on hold until the morning. With one last look Dumbledore lifted the muggle repelling charms and once again disappeared.

The next morning Dumbledore arrived at the school dressed in a suit and tie. As he entered the school he saw the large secretary sitting behind the desk. "Hello, I am here to for my appointment. The name is Albus Dumbledore."

"Oh yes one moment." The secretary told him as she picked up her phone. "Headmaster, a Mr. Dumbledore is here to see you...Right away sir." She put down the phone and looked back up at Dumbledore "Please head on in."

Dumbledore headed down the hall to the headmasters door and knocked. When he heard a "Come in." Dumbledore opened the door and walked inside the headmaster's office. "Ah headmaster, thank you for seeing me on such short notice." Dumbledore then noticed a rather large bruise on the side of the headmaster's face. "Pardon me for asking but are you alright? I see you have received a rather hard hit."

The headmaster looked up. "Oh, this?" He asked gesturing at the bruise. "It's nothing. I got it from a rather disturbed parent. Nothing to worry about. The child, thank the light, is no longer a student here. But enough of that what can I do for you Mr...?"

"Professor actually, Professor Dumbledore." Albus replied. "And as for what you can do for me, I happen to be looking for a young boy by the name of Harry Potter. I believe this is the school he attends. Correct?"

"Actually no." replied the headmaster. Dumbledore half expected this. He really should have kept closer tabs on the boy. "He was withdrawn from the school two day's ago by his guardians."

"Ah yes, the Dursleys if I'm not mistaken." Dumbledore was about to continue on when the headmaster interrupted.

"Oh no. Not anymore. Haven't you been watching the news. The were taken away and are now in prison charged with child abuse. The details haven't been released yet but I personally think the charges are fraudulent. I personally have met the Dursleys and a nicer couple you could not hope to meet." This news shocked Dumbledore. No wonder the house was empty. Well at least some good news came from this at least Harry should still be alive. Now all Dumbledore had to do is find him.

"I don't suppose that you would know who his new guardians are would you?" Dumbledore asked.

"I do and technically we are not allowed to give out that information, but as one of them was kind enough to mar my face the least I could do is return the favor. Here are their names and their address. Just remember I didn't give it to you." The headmaster said. Dumbledore nodded his thanks and left. Well now he knew where young Harry should be. He would need to find a way to get the Dursleys out of prison and back home as soon as possible. But first he needed to retrieve Harry from these...Dumbledore looked down at the piece of paper...Ashwoods. Hopefully he would find Harry alive and well at the Ashwood residence.

Harry woke the next morning with a smile on his face. Here he was in his own bed. He still couldn't get over the fact that he actually had his own bed. Waiting for John to fix breakfast. It had taken some effort to not just get up early and make breakfast like he always did but the thought of John's cooking helped. Harry never liked cooking and thought it was odd how much John seemed to like it. When Harry asked him, he said, "It's one of the ways that I like to relax. And then at the end I get something tasty to eat so it kills two birds with one stone." Harry wished he had an activity like that. 'Well why not cooking. I might like doing it if it is with John.' Harry thought. Soon the sweet smells of bacon, and hot maple syrup wafted through the house and Harry knew it was time to get up. So he got up and climbed down from the top bunk. Both his brother and he wanted it so they flipped a coin and Harry won. By the time he got down his brother was out the door. 'Maybe I should have chosen the bottom.' Harry thought to himself as he hurried after Lynn. When he got downstairs and saw what was for breakfast his mouth began to water. Bacon, pancakes, toast with jam, fruit, and orange juice was quickly becoming his favorite breakfast. Breakfast always seemed to start off quiet, what with himself and Lynn stuffing their faces while Maria woke up with a cup of tea and then John just watched everyone with a smile on his face. But the table never stayed quiet for long as someone asked a question and as soon as the silence was broken it stayed that way.

Just as they were heading upstairs after breakfast the two boys heard Maria call out. "Boys don't forget we are starting your home schooling today. You have an hour to get ready."

"Yes Mom/Maria." Lynn and Harry each said. Then they headed upstairs to get ready. It only took them about half an hour to get ready so they spent the rest of the time goofing off in their room playing tag. When they heard Maria call them down they went down. It was time for school.

The first subject that Maria covered was English. They had two hours of English before they moved on to Math. When they were forty-five minutes in the doorbell rang. "Keep working kids. I'll see who it is and be right back." Maria told her children and went to the door. When she opened the door she was met with the sight of a rather tall old man with white hair and a white beard that went down to his knees. The man was wearing a suit and tie and half moon spectacles. "Can I help you?"

The man gave her a smile and there seemed to be a twinkle in his eye. "Mrs. Ashwood, I am Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. The Headmaster of boarding school up in Scotland. That is not why I am here however. I am here in regards to one Harry James Potter.." Dumbledore told Maria. Dumbledore noticed that Mrs. Ashwood tensed at the mention of Harry. This could work in his favor if she already had an unfavorable opinion of the young Potter. "Yes. I understand that you are the boy's current guardian appointed by the state after the affair with the Dursley's." Maria nodded not liking where this was going. "I have come to take young Harry off your hands." Harry chose just that moment to run up to Maria.

"Maria, I am having a problem with this one. Can you help me?" Harry asked with a smile.

"Of course honey just go wait for me with Lynn." Maria told him.

Dumbledore however couldn't let the opportunity pass him up. "Ah Mr. Potter, how are you fairing?"

"I'm fine." Harry said timidly. "Who are you?"

"I am Albus Dumbledore. I have come to take you back to the Dursleys." Dumbledore told the little boy.

Harry knew this was coming. He knew someone would come to take him back. He didn't want to go. So he turned to one of the only three people to ever make him feel safe. "Mom! Please don't let him take me!" Harry started bawling while he hung onto his mothers leg.

Maria was shocked. How could anyone put any child in the hands of those horrible people. "What are you talking about? Absolutely not!" Maria shouted at Dumbledore.

"I am afraid I must it is for the best." Dumbledore replied. All the yelling had.

"Don't you know what those people did to him!?" Maria asked mortified by what this man was saying.

"Yes I do my dear lady. However Harry is alive so all is well." Albus said about to go on when he realized his mistake. He had assumed earlier that this woman did not particularly like the young Potter. It was obvious that the young Potter liked Mrs. Ashwood. Now however he realized that Mrs. Ashwood seemed to care a great deal about the young boy. This was not good. This required a different approach. Just as he was about to try to sooth the two a third figure appeared. Another child in fact.

"Lynn!/John!" Harry and Maria screamed at the same time. The first for his brother and the latter for her husband. Merlyn was the closest and first to make it to them.

Merlyn ran to his mother and brother. "Whats wrong Harry?"

"This man is trying to take me away!" Harry told him while gripping his mom's leg tighter.

"Are you trying to take Harry away?" Merlyn asked the old man.

"Yes. I'm afraid I must take," Albus said but at that moment was interrupted by a shouting Merlyn.

"Stay away from my brother!" Merlyn shouted and before anyone knew what was going on the Hogwarts Headmaster was thrown violently from the porch and was rolling across the yard away from the house.

The moment Dumbledore got his bearings he tried to stand unfortunately a sharp pain in his leg told him that would be a very bad idea. So he turned and disappeared once again. He then reappeared just outside the Hogwarts gates. Trying not to move his bad leg Dumbledore created a patronus and sent it to Madame Pomphrey. A few minutes later she came running down the path and found an injured Dumbledore.

"Albus what happened to you!?" Madame Pomphrey asked.

"Oh went for a little tumble is all. I think its broken, Poppy." Dumbledore told her.

"Well you are right about that." She said examining the leg. "Here." Poppy said whiled she magicked up a stretcher. She then levitated Dumbledore on top of it and then the stretcher into the air. "I had hoped I wouldn't have any more patients this year. Silly me." Poppy started talking to herself. Dumbledore just laid back thinking. Today most definitely did not go to plan. It was obvious that he could not go back if he was to have any hope to get Harry to return to the Dursley's. And he was a little strapped for time. He would need to get Harry back to number four by ten o'clock tonight or there would be no hope of reactivating the blood wards. He did not like breaking the law but as it was apparent Harry had used accidental magic to throw him across the yard. There was a loophole that allowed those who witness magic to either be told about the wizarding world or obliviated. The ministry always followed the policy of obliviating but the law did give Dumbledore the opportunity that he needed. 'That should do it.' Dumbledore thought. That should show the Ashwoods that young Harry would be far too much for them to handle. Then they would give up guardianship. Yes, this would work. He knew that Harry seemed to like it with these people but it had only been a few days and strong emotional ties couldn't have been formed so quickly. Harry will be sad for a little while but then forget all about the Ashwoods. He would get Minerva to go and explain everything. They had to know to stress the troubles of raising a wizard so that the Ashwoods would give Harry up. Yes this would work. It had to.

The moment that Dumbledore disappeared Maria quickly bent down and pulled Harry into a hug. "Hush now. Everything is going to be alright. No one is going to take you away." Maria kept telling him trying to calm her scared child. John had arrived and was attempting to calm down Merlyn who at this point was very angry that anyone would upset his little brother. It took a good ten minutes before the children finally calmed down enough so they could move from their spots. They moved to the couch and sat their with John and Maria comforting their distraught children. Harry had stopped crying but Maria could tell he was still very upset. "Harry, honey, listen to me. I will not let the bad man take you away." Maria told him. "You got that? No one is taking my baby away." This seemed to do the trick as Harry calmed down almost immediately leaning into his mother. Maria put an arm around her son and stroked his hair.

John watched his family with pride. However he was not a happy man. He needed to find out why his family was in this state to begin with. Then he would kill the person responsible. No one did this to his family. "Son," John said to Merlyn breaking him out of his anger driven stupor. "Come with me. Let's leave Harry to your mom. I need to talk to you in the kitchen." Merlyn followed his father into the kitchen. Merlyn sat down at the island when his father handed him a bar of chocolate and a knife. Merlyn knew what his father wanted and started to chop up the bar of dark chocolate. Meanwhile John grabbed a pot and some milk from the fridge. The best thing for a distraught family is hot chocolate. After John got the pot settled on the stove he turned to his son who was still chopping at t he large slab of chocolate. "That should do son." He said as he took the slab back and put it away, leaving Merlyn to pile up the cut pieces. John looked around but there was nothing left to do but wait for the water to boil. "Son, " John said gaining Merlyn's attention. "I want you to know that I am very proud of you. You saw that your brother was in trouble and you ran to help him. Well done son." John told him with pride and a few tears. "Now then did you mean to throw that man?" Merlyn shook his head. He knew he was learning control so that things like that didn't happen. "I see." John said thoughtfully. "Well this means that your abilities are getting stronger. Which while it is a good thing also means you must be even more careful not to use your gift accidentally. Now this time it worked out well enough for us but it might not next time. Understand?"

"Yes, dad." During their talk the water had come to a boil.

"Well look at this. Why don't you grab four mugs for me, son." John said as he quickly made the hot chocolate.

John soon returned carrying two mugs of chocolate while Merlyn carried the other two. John handed one to his wife and Merlyn handed one to his brother. "How is he?" John whispered to Maria.

"He is alright now. The chocolate seems to be helping almost as much as his big brother." Maria said with an adoring look in her eyes. "John that man wanted to take Harry away." Johns eyes narrowed. Someone wanted to take his son away! Absolutely not!. "But that is not all. The man wanted to place him back with the Dursley's." John was shocked. Why would anyone put a child with those people. "John I think that he will be back and I want to make sure he doesn't get what he wants. So I am going to grab 'it' out of the attic. Alright?" Maria asked John nervously. She would get 'it' regardless but she really wanted her husbands support.

John really never felt comfortable around 'it'. After all he reasoned 'it' was illegal. Sure his wife had a special permit but 'it' still made him a tad uneasy. But to protect his family he would deal with it. "Alright. Go get it." John said giving his wife a reassuring smile. Maria visibly relaxed and set her chocolate on the coffee table as she got up to head for the attic."Alright guys." John said addressing his kids. "Once you finish your chocolate you can head upstairs. I think school is canceled for today.

The next few hours passed relatively calmly. The Ashwood household had finally returned to normal. But alas it did not seem like the peace was meant to last as the doorbell rang yet again. Maria went to answer the door while John went to tell the kids to stay upstairs. They did not need anymore excitement today. Maria went to the door and slowly opened. it. She was a little surprised by what who she saw. It was an older woman with her hair in a bun and was wearing floor length robes. Maria just quirked her eyebrow at the woman. "Can I help you?" She asked.

"Yes, please let me introduce myself. I am Minerva McGonagall Professor and Deputy Headmistress at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Minerva was about to go on when she was rather rudely interrupted by Maria, who realized that she must have been sent by Dumbledore.

"Go away! Leave us alone! And while your gone you can tell that old coot you have for a headmaster that if he ever comes near me or my family again I will kill him and damn the consequences!" Maria shouted at Minerva. "And let me make something very clear right here and now. You will not be taking my children away from me. Do you understand." Maria growled out in a menacing tone.

Minerva was shocked to say the least as well as a little outraged. How dare someone, anyone for that matter threaten to kill Albus Dumbledore. He was after all one of the greatest wizards of the age. There must be some mistake. That's it. Besides this was just supposed to be an informative visit and nothing else. Besides why would Professor Dumbledore want to take a child away from their parent. That didn't sound like him at all. She needed to mend a few bridges apparently and correct the horrible misunderstanding that had occurred. "Mrs. Ashwood, I am afraid that you are mistaken. May I come in and speak with you and your husband. There are some things that you must understand after all your son is very special. All I need to do is explain a few things and then answer whatever questions you may have." Minerva said politely. "So may I come in I promise I will not take your child I simply want to talk with you and your husband."

Maria looked at her questioningly and decided to let her in but to err on the side of caution. "Very well but before you come in I would like your wand." Maria told her. The old man pulled out a stick before he disappeared and this Minerva said she was from a school of witchcraft and wizardry. Maria put two and two together. Maria certainly wasn't going to let a stranger into her house with a potential weapon on them.

Minerva was stunned, no one had ever demanded her wand before. Professor Dumbledore must have done something he hadn't told her about to elicit this particular reaction. But now was not time to be stubborn so slowly Minerva pulled her wand from her pocket and handed it over. Maria then stepped aside and let her in. Minerva followed Maria into the family room and took the offered chair. Maria put her wand on the coffee table and then set down what Minerva believed was called a fireleg.

Maria was never so happy for her special permit to own a pistol then she was right now. "Would you care for some tea, Minerva?" Maria asked trying for a little hospitality.

"Yes, please." Minerva said just as John appeared with three cups of earl grey tea. "Oh thank you." Minerva told John as he handed her a cup. "Now first off I would like to apologize for any misunderstandings that may have occurred when Professor Dumbledore was here. Now I would," She tried to go on but was rather rudely interrupted again by a rather irate Mrs. Ashwood.

"Apologize!? I am afraid you cannot just apologize for trying to take my child away from me!" Maria shouted.

Minerva's eyes widened apparently this misunderstanding was rather more detrimental then Dumbledore had led her to believe. Perhaps he did not realize how bad it was. Oh well it was her job to fix this and bring this family into the wizarding world. "Professor Dumbledore would not do such a thing. You must have misunderstood."

"Misunderstood? No it is very hard to misunderstand the meaning behind his words. In fact his exact words were 'I am Albus Dumbledore. I have come to take you back to the Dursley's.'" Maria told Minerva who had gone a little pale. "Harry." Maria called out. "Please come down stairs." A moment later Harry was down stairs and next to his mom. "Harry please tell this lady what the old man said earlier." Maria asked her son as gently as she could.

Harry got rather tense and grabbed his mom's hand. "He said he was going to take me back to the Dursley's." Harry said as he started to cry.

Maria quickly picked her son up and placed him on her lap wrapping her arms around him. "It's alright Harry. No one will take you away from here. I promise." Maria said soothingly as her son started to calm down. Harry just cuddled into Maria's arms. "You see what your friend has done? He should be ashamed of himself!" Maria hissed at Minerva.

Minerva was in a state of shock attempting to sort out this new piece of information. Dumbledore had basically out right lied to her and on top of that had attempted to take this child from his family and send him to the Dursley's...the Dursleys. Now why did that name sound so familiar. Isn't that...no. It couldn't be. "Excuse me I am sorry for asking but could you please tell me Harry's last name."

"It's Potter. Why?"

"I just know that Professor Dumbledore had always been insistent that Harry live with the Dursleys. I myself did not agree with the decision as they seemed like wretched people to me. But for some reason Albus felt as though leaving him with family was the best option." Minerva said.

"John." Maria said looking at her husband. "Why don't you take Harry and get him some of your chocolate, hmm. I would like a private word with Ms. McGonagall." Maria told her husband trying to keep venom out of her voice. But before Maria could continue Minerva broke the silence.

"Harry looks a little thin and frail for his age. Does he have some condition?" Minerva asked perhaps if she could fix whatever malady vexed the young boy she could get on Maria's good side, or at least off her bad one.

"His 'condition' as you put it is that he has been starved, beaten, and abused his entire life!" Maria hissed at the woman. "Those horrific Dursleys that your precious boss was so keen to get him back to are in prison for the atrocities they committed against that boy!" This cause Minerva's eyes to once again shoot wide open.

"No, Albus must not have been aware that Harry was being mistreated. Otherwise he would have taken him out of that house long ago!" Minerva said trying once again to defend her friend and coworker.

"Oh really? Well then listen to this when I asked him if he knew that the Dursleys were mistreating him, and how they were doing it. What do you suppose he said? He said that Harry was ALIVE so all is well!" Maria told Minerva with a murderous look.

Minerva was silent for a long time after hearing that. She could not comprehend Albus Dumbledore the greatest wizard of the age doing something so horrid. After a long internal struggle Minerva had finally accepted the fact that there was no misunderstanding and that something must be done about Albus. She would deal with him later though. Now she had a more pressing problem. "Mrs. Ashwood I cannot tell you how sorry I am for my colleagues actions. I assure you steps will be taken so that this will never happen again." Minerva said sincerely. "Would it be possible for us, at least, to start over?"

Maria looked Minerva over trying to spot anything that would suggest that she was trying to pull a fast one. All Maria found was that Minerva was actually sincere in her wish to make a fresh go at it all. It also seemed that she had no idea what her colleague had done. Sadly Minerva wasn't the one in the wrong here she was, and it was time to make things right. "Alright." She said with a smile. "However I must insist that you call me Maria. And I must apologize while I may be upset with your coworker that is no reason for me to take it out on you. I am sorry."

Minerva smiled at that. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all. "I accept, so long as you call me Minerva." The two women just looked at each other and giggled. They were both behaving rather childishly.. "So," Minerva started as the giggles began to go away. "I assume you have many questions about Harry after seeing Professor Dumbledore being bodily thrown across your lawn."

"I'm afraid you are mistaken. Harry didn't throw Professor Dumbledore anywhere, trust me." Maria told her.

"Not with his hands, no. But with his magic. Harry is a wizard. And at his age accidental magical outbursts are..." Minerva stopped when Maria burst out into laughter. "I am sorry but what is so funny?"

"You think that Harry is a wizard because you believe he threw your friend across my front yard?" Maria asked trying to hold back her laughter.

"No. I believe him to be a wizard because his father was a wizard and his mother was a witch." Minerva said very matter of factly. "The fact that he used his magic today as accidental as it might have been is just proof to the fact that he is a wizard." Maria got rather silent at this.

"Um, Minerva I promise that it wasn't Harry who threw Dumbledore. But are you sure that what threw him was magic? I mean couldn't it have been some random ability. I mean I have seen some comic books and they have some crazy abilities in those." Maria asked wanting to make sure before she said anything about Merlyn.

"I am afraid so. Dumbledore despite his apparent failings is a rather brilliant wizard. He knows magic when he sees it. And I am afraid that as both you and your husband are muggles, people who do not possess magic, there is no one else who could have done it."

"I am afraid you are wrong." Maria said and continued when she saw a look of confusion on Minerva's face. "Harry didn't do it. My other son Lynn did." Minerva's face went from confusion to shock in a heartbeat. "Lynn has been able to do things like that for over a year now. Of course when he first started he couldn't control his magic at all. It took a few months before he was able to use his magic without my husband talking him through it." Minerva at this point was flabbergasted.

"Um, if you don't mind me asking just how old is Lynn?"

"Oh, well we don't know exactly." At seeing the glance Minerva gave her she continued. "We found him in the middle of the road while driving about a year and a half ago. But I would say he is at most ten months older than Harry." Minerva wasn't sure what to do. A child being able to consciously control magic at this age was almost unheard of. "But if Harry is a wizard too then I'm sure he will catch up with Lynn in no time. John will absolutely love this. He is a magician and just loves magic. You know he has been saying ever since I met him that magic is real." Maria finished with a laugh and then with a smile said, "I will be hearing 'I told you so' for a while I bet. Oh but back to Lynn and Harry. So what happens now?"

"Well," Said Minerva slowly so she could regain her composure. "First I would like to see your son, Lynn. Do you think you could convince him to show me what he can do?" Minerva asked. Maria just laughed.

"Convince? There is no need to convince him. He loves using his gift any chance he gets. Lynn, can you come down here please." Maria called out before heading to the kitchen to fetch John and Harry. Soon everyone was seated in the living room. "Well there have been a few developments." And Maria told her family everything that both she and Minerva had talked about only leaving out the parts about Dumbledore. Lynn and Harry were both excited that they were both wizards. 'Honestly what kid wouldn't be?' Maria thought. John on the other hand looked like a child who had just been told that everyday was Christmas. His eyes kept darting between his sons, the wand on the coffee table, and the witch sitting in the chair. "So Minerva would like to see you use your magic, alright?"

"Sure!" Lynn said excitedly. He loved using his gift in front of others. He gave his mom an odd look when she asked if he needed a candle. "No mom, I don't need a candle anymore." This was going to be great not only was he going to show what he could do to an actual witch, he would show his mom a new trick not to mention his brother. This was going to be awesome.

"Alright son do it just like we've been practicing." John told his son. Merlyn went and stood in front of the fireplace and held out his hands so that his palms were facing each other. A deep breath in, and then he felt the pulses. With each pulse he pushed it into the space between his palms to try and create fire. Pulse, pause, pulse, pause, and so it went. Each pulse produced a spark right in-between his palms. Each pulse came faster then the last and so too came the sparks. After ten pulses it became a constant stream of sparks until...fire. A small flame was now floating in the middle of his hands. The pulses kept feeding the fire and it grew, eventually becoming the size of an apple before it disappeared.

The moment the fire went out John rushed to his son as he collapsed. He picked up his son and headed into the kitchen. Minerva was both shocked at what the boy had done and worried that he collapsed. Harry immediately turned to his mom. "Mom! Is Lynn okay!?"

"Yes dear he is just tired and hungry after making that fire. In fact do you see that fire on the mantel." Maria asked her son pointing to the lantern. Harry nodded. "That was the very first flame your brother ever made." Harry's eyes widened in wonder.

Minerva couldn't believe what she was hearing the first thing that boy did was make everlasting fire? "How long ago did you say he did that?" She asked Maria.

"About a year and a half ago. I have to tell you though it isn't cheap to keep going. That lantern goes through at least one liter of oil a week." Maria told her with a smile. It took Minerva a few minutes to realize that while Lynn created the flame it wasn't everlasting just a fire that has been kept alive. She honestly didn't need any more surprises today there had been quiet enough already. At that point John came out of the kitchen carrying a sleeping Merlyn.

"Harry why don't you go on in the kitchen there is some dinner waiting for you then you can head on up to bed." Seeing the look on Harry's face John thought he better explain. "You are not in trouble Harry. And I know it's early but both you and Merlyn will have a busy day tomorrow so it is best to get to sleep early." He said with a smile and Harry seemed to feel better as he headed into the kitchen.

"Merlyn?" Minerva asked Maria.

"That's Lynn's actual name. I just liked Lynn better but Jonathan will only call him Merlyn." Maria told Minerva before letting out a laugh. "Now that I think about it Merlyn fits him perfectly. After all Merlyn is a wizard." Maria laughed at her own little joke. Just then John sat down beside her and put an arm around her shoulders.

"So is there anything we should know considering our sons are wizards?" John asked.

"Actually a few things but it has been a trying day for everyone I think. Would it be alright if I called on you again tomorrow?"

"Sure drop by anytime." John told her getting up and handing Minerva her wand.

"Oh and plan on a trip to London when I come tomorrow." Minerva told them as she turned and vanished.

Dumbledore was currently sitting at his desk sucking on a lemon drop. His leg was now feeling much better. Young Mr. Potter was indeed a rather strong wizard. Dumbledore glanced at his watch. Minerva was cutting this very close, they only had about an hour left before the wards could not be reactivated. To be honest he was not sure that they could be now but there was a chance. Just as he had finally decided that he needed to go check on Minerva there was a knock on his door. With a sigh of relief he sat back down. "Enter." In came Minerva McGonagall, and a rather upset one at that. "I take it the meeting did not go well. Unfortunately I rather suspected that it would not. I am surprised that it took you so long to convince them that young Harry would be too much for them to handle however. But that is neither here nor there. Now we simply need to get the Dursleys out of prison and take them all back to number four Privet Drive." Dumbledore went on not noticing that his Deputy Headmistress was getting more and more upset with almost each passing syllable coming out of his mouth. Eventually he looked up and noticed just how angry she was and so tried to sympathize. "Minerva I am sorry I had you go to the Ashwoods. But this needed to be done. I realize they are rather brash but now that Harry is no longer with them there is no reason for anyone to go back there." He said trying to placate her. However the words had the exact opposite effect.

"Albus! I have just spent a very interesting evening with the Ashwoods and I just so happened to learn exactly what happened during your first visit earlier today! I am horrified at what you have done Albus!" Dumbledore was quite taken aback. "I am appalled that you knew of Harry's treatment at the hands of the Dursleys and not only did you let it continue but you were actually planning on putting him back in that situation now that he finally has a loving and caring family! How could you Albus?" Minerva just went off. She could not understand how Albus Dumbledore of all people could do such a thing.

"Minerva, I" Dumbledore tried to explain himself but wasn't given a chance.

"Dumbledore, I no longer care to hear your opinion. I was hoping that this was all just one big misunderstanding, but after listening to you just now I can see that those hopes were unfounded. So now I am offering you an ultimatum. Considering your actions and also in this case lack thereof in regards to Harry Potter, I am hereby asking for your resignation. I can not in good conscience have you remain at this school when you have treated a child in the way you have. If you do not hand in your resignation by the end of the week I am afraid I will have to go to the Daily Prophet with a full account of the events of today." Minerva then turned around and headed out of the office. "Good day!" She said sternly as she slammed the door.

Dumbledore was stunned. He did not see this coming. Minerva had always been one of his staunchest supporters. What had happened at that house. It was obvious that the Ashwoods had not given up custody of Harry. And now this entire fiasco could end up on the front page. He had obviously misread the circumstances with the Ashwoods and should have handled it differently. Now what was he to do. There had to be a way out of this mess he created. He just had to find it, and he would after all he did have a week.

The next morning the Ashwood family awoke in rather high spirits. While the previous day began rather poorly it ended rather well. After a large breakfast John told his kids to get ready for a trip to London when Ms. McGonagall arrived. A few hours later there came a knock at the door. When Maria opened the door she found a very different Minerva from yesterday. Today she seemed to be wearing a green and black suit. It looked rather good on the older woman. "Hello Minerva. Have you had breakfast?" Maria asked inviting Minerva inside.

"Yes I have is everyone ready to go?"

"Well if they are not they will be soon. So where are we going?" Maria asked her curiosity getting the better of her.

"It's a surprise Maria." Minerva told her with a sly smile. "I know that you all will love it. Ah here we are." She said as the rest of the family came into view. "Well if everyone is ready I say lets go."

"So where to?" John asked after they all piled into the car.

"Leadenhall Market. Once we get near there find a place to park and we can walk the rest of the way." Minerva said. About an hour later they found themselves standing in Leadenhall Market.

"So where to now?" asked John. Minerva just smiled and started walking. All of a sudden she just turned into a doorway that neither John or Maria hadn't even noticed. It look rather old and rundown. While they just stared Harry dragged Maria inside while Merlyn did the same with John. Inside was a rather dark pub. "You wanted to bring us to a pub?" John asked who was rather confused.

Minerva just turned to him. "No, we just have to go through the pub. Oh, hello Tom." Minerva said waving at the barkeep. "That's Tom the barkeep. He may seem a little odd but he is harmless. Ah, now this is why we are here." Minerva said as she stopped in front of a brick wall.

"A brick wall?" John asked. Minerva once again just smiled and pulled out her wand and tapped the brick three up and two across from the trash can. The moment her wand touched the brick a hole started to form in the wall. The bricks all turning and moving out of the way to leave an archway.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley!"

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

 **Please leave a review and let me know what you think.**

 **Thank you**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hello everyone here is chapter 9. Once again a few minor additions but no big changes yet. Sorry. But they will be here very soon. Please enjoy.**

"Welcome to Diagon Alley!"

"Wow." John breathed. The rest of his family were having similar reactions. It was a very good thing that both John and Maria had a hold of their children's hands or else they would have likely bolted right through that archway. Even now they were trying their best to pull their parents into the alley. John could not believe his eye's. To be honest he wasn't even sure what he was looking at. Minerva was just standing to the side, giving the family an unobstructed view. "What is all this?" John asked Minerva.

"This, Mr. Ashwood, is the wizarding world's British economic center. Now I have about a hour before I must get back to Hogwarts so why don't we start by getting a bite to eat. I still have a lot to explain. I was actually supposed to explain everything to you yesterday but given the circumstances that did not happen." Minerva said apologetically. "Now I should be able to explain everything before I need to go back. After I leave feel free to explore. However I would suggest that you stay out of Knockturn Alley. It is not off limits or anything like that, but it is rather a seedy place." Minerva said to Maria and John. She would have told Merlyn and Harry the same thing but it did not seem as though they were paying attention to anyone as they looked around in wonder.

"I am afraid we have already eaten." Maria said. "And I am not sure that the kids will sit through a meal with all of this." Maria stated while gesturing all around her. To her surprise Minerva just smiled.

"Actually I think I know the perfect place." Minerva told them trying not to allow her grin to get any wider. "Just follow me. I think I know just the thing for two kids who want to run around." Now both John and Maria were confused but followed along non the less. "Ah, here we are." Minerva said as she stopped in front of a yellow shop with a few tables out front. The sign said 'Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour'.

Maria looked at John questioningly but John just smiled and shrugged. "Well I think this just might do it." Maria said letting a small chuckle escape before she turned to her sons. Who were still looking all over the place and not noticing that they were in front of an ice cream shop. "Hey kids, how would you like some ice cream before we start exploring?" Maria asked. Both Harry and Lynn looked at their mom before noticing that they were in fact in front of an ice cream parlour. The two didn't even bother answering before they ran inside.

"Why hello there. And how are you two today?" A man from behind the counter asked.

"We're great!" The pair said rather quickly now observing all the ice cream flavors.

"Ah, and a good day to you as well." The man said towards the adults who were now coming inside. "Why, Professor McGonagall! I didn't expect to see you for at least another few weeks when term ended. This is a pleasant surprise." The man exclaimed with a delighted smile.

"Hello Florean, and this is a rather special occasion. These are the Ashwoods. John, Maria, Lynn, and Harry. And I must say from the look on the kids faces you have an opportunity to gain a few lifetime customers if you play your cards right." Minerva told Florean with a knowing grin. No one made better ice cream then Florean after all so it shouldn't be to hard.

"Well then lets get to it. Do you see anything you like?" He asked the two.

"Can you mix two of the flavors?" Harry asked. John had to smile knowing where this was going. Florean was simply perplexed why anyone would want to mix flavors.

"I can but why don't you try them separately before you mix them? Hmm." He asked trying to reason with the children. Unfortunately it didn't work.

"No thanks. Can I get a mix of mint and strawberry?" Merlyn asked.

"I suppose so." Florean answered wondering how that would actually taste. "And for you?" Florean asked Harry.

"Can I get a mix of strawberry and mint?" Florean was beginning to think he knew just how this combination came about. But who on earth would serve a combination like that.

"Very well one mint and strawberry, and one strawberry and mint coming right up." Florean said loudly and with a flick of his wand two balls of mint popped out of their container while at the same time two balls of strawberry popped out and they started to mix together and finally separated into two bowls. "And what can I get for the rest of you?"

"Just for the kids today I think." John told the man. "So how much do we owe you?"

"One galleon and nine sickles." Florean answered a now confused John with an equally confused Maria next to him.

"Don't worry about this." Minerva said. "This is on me." She told them as she pulled two gold coins from her purse and handed them over to Florean. "Now why don't we join the kids at the table." When they sat down they could tell that the kids were in heaven. Minerva smiled as she turned to the Ashwood patriarchs. "So let me see where to start. Oh my look at the time, I will need to be quick. Well considering what just happened let me tell you that you can find out everything about our money and the conversion rate from the goblins at Gringotts." Minerva started to explain but paused when she saw the puzzled look on John's face. "Gringotts is the wizarding bank." She quickly answered. "That should be your first stop since you will be needing our currency to do any shopping."

John couldn't wait any longer and just blurted out, "Goblins!?"

Minerva realized that she didn't actually answer John's puzzled look after all. "Yes. The goblin nation runs Gringotts. I would go into fuller detail but I don't have too much time left. Now all you need to know is be very respectful and they will treat you right." Seeing as John was about to interrupt again Minerva gave him a stern glare and quickly headed him off. "If there is anything I don't explain you can probably find out about it in a book from Flourish and Blotts. Now then to continue, ah yes you can't let the knowledge that our world exists out or it would mean big trouble for you at the Ministry of Magic. The Ministry of Magic is our governing body they do work with the British government but not for them. They are an entirely separate entity." Minerva then went on to explain about muggles, pure bloods, using owl mail. She was about to bring up Hogwarts but thought it wise to leave that discussion for another time. By the time she finished explaining everything and answered a few of John and Maria's questions it was time for her to go. "Florean do you mind if I use your fireplace?" Florean who had been listening, due to the fact that there was no one else in his shop, shook his head and gestured towards a pot.

John and Maria turned to watch Minerva throw some powder into the fireplace and a bright green fire spring up. Their jaws dropped when they witnessed Minerva step into the flames and then disappear taking the flames with her. "What just happened?" Maria asked out loud.

Florean thought he was being asked the question and answered, "We can travel from fireplace to fireplace so long as the fireplaces are on the floo network."

Maria did not know what floo was, but she did understand 'fireplace to fireplace'. "Thank you." Maria told Florean. She looked down and saw that Harry and Lynn were done with their ice cream. "Did you guy's like it?" The two kids had smiles on their faces as they nodded slowly. Apparently they were still in ice cream heaven. "Well in that case it is time to go we have some exploring to do don't we?" She asked them and immediately the two came back to reality.

"Um, I was wondering if you could tell us where Gringotts is?" John asked Florean.

"Sure, it's that large marble building at the end of the alley."

"Thanks." John said to the man as the family left. The four then made their way to the large marble building all the while looking around and taking in the sights. Finally they reached the huge doors of Gringotts. John let out a whistle. This building was enormous. The large doors were already open so that patrons could just walk right on in. As they were heading in Maria drew his attention to a sign. The sign read, 'Enter, stranger, but take heed; Of what awaits the sin of greed; For those who take, but do not earn; Must pay most dearly in their turn. So if you seek beneath our floors; A treasure that was never yours; Thief, you have been warned, beware; Of finding more than treasure there.' "Well I guess it's a good thing we weren't planning on robbing the place." John said with a chuckle making his wife smile. John along with his family walked right up to the counter and addressed the goblin. 'So this is a goblin! Incredible!' John thought. "Hello, sir, we were hoping that you could help us." John said addressing the goblin.

The goblin looked up from his pile of gold with dark eyes and studied the man in front of him. Then with a cold nasally voice, "Do you have an account with us?"

"No I am..." John started to answer but then remembered that Minerva had said that Harry's parents were a witch and wizard so Harry might just happen to have one. "I don't think that we do. But our son Harry might."

"Very well. Please wait here." The goblin told John. A few minutes later the goblin returned with a few pieces of paper and what appeared to be a silver dagger. "Now please give me everyone's hands and we shall see if you have a vault with us."

"Excuse me but what exactly do you plan to do with that dagger?" Maria asked suspiciously.

The goblin let out a huff. "The paper needs a blood sample in order to work. So I will need a sample from each of you. I figured while I am finding out if one of you has a vault I might as well see if the rest of you do as well." The goblin told him with a sneer. John and Maria got the feeling that the goblin just wanted to have some sick fun. But John figured it might not be such a bad idea. For all they knew Merlyn had a vault and it would be easier for the kids if they saw their parents do this first.

"Alright." John answered earning him a wide eyed look from his wife. He just smiled back at her letting her know he would explain later. "I'll go first." John said holding out his finger for the goblin to prick. The goblin had other ideas and grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand forward.

"Open you hand please. I need a decent amount of blood. Don't worry this is standard procedure." The goblin said with a sadistic smile. After all just because it was procedure doesn't mean he can't enjoy it. John took a deep breath and opened his hand. The goblin quickly made a rather deep cut in John's palm and blood started pouring out onto the sheet of paper. John winced at the cut, it seemed to burn.

"How much do you need exactly?" John asked since the goblin didn't make any attempt to stop the bleeding. Just as he finished his question he felt a warm comforting sensation surround the cut and it stopped bleeding. When he wiped the blood off you could not even tell that there had even been a cut there. 'Wow!' John thought to himself, 'Magic is amazing!"

The goblin let the blood pour onto piece of paper. The blood seemed to be absorbed into it. The goblin then held up the paper and watched it for a few minutes but nothing seemed to happen when he started talking, "Well it appears as though you do not have an account with us. Next." Maria went up and got her palm sliced. Once again nothing happened. Now it was Harry's turn.

Harry wasn't looking forward to this at all. The Dursleys had had done worse to him but he still really didn't want to do this. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder, it was his brother's. That gave Harry the strength he needed. His new mom and dad had both done it so it couldn't be too bad, right? He walked over to his dad so that he could pick him up, the counter was rather high after all.

"Now don't worry about a thing Harry. It only hurts for a little bit. I promise." John told Harry trying to calm him down as much as possible. After all it wasn't everyday that someone wants to cut your son's hand and you let them. The goblin quickly took Harry's hand and slit it. Harry winced and John could see a tear in his eye. "It's alright son, I'm here. It will all be over soon." Harry nodded but kept his eyes shut. Then John saw the skin healing on it's own, that coupled with the look on Harry's face let him know that his son was done. "There we go." John said while putting his son down. "Now that wasn't so bad now was it?" Harry shook his head and gave his dad a small smile.

The goblin then for the third time held up the piece of paper and held it for a few minutes. Just like John's and Maria's the blood seemed to be absorbed by the parchment. It now looked as though there was never any blood on it at all. A few minutes passed and then words started to form on the paper. The words seemed to be written in blood. Harry's blood. "Ah yes, Mr. Potter does indeed have a vault with us. Might I say welcome back Mr. Potter." The goblin said giving Harry a smile. While the smile showed a lot of ferocious pointed teeth the goblin didn't seem any where near as creepy and sadistic as he had up until that point. "Next." The goblin said rather politely. John was rather confused apparently Harry's family had some clout here.

"Alright, Lynn, it's your turn."

Lynn looked at his dad. He wasn't exactly looking forward to this either. But he couldn't let his brother see him chicken out. So with a deep breath he stepped over to his mom who picked him up. Just like with Harry it hurt. It hurt a lot, but then after about twenty seconds he felt a comforting warmth on his palm and the pain was all gone. Soon enough he was back on the ground looking at his palm. He had never even thought about using magic to heal. That would of helped a lot during his mom's self defense training.

John and Maria were observing the paper. After all Lynn was a wizard so maybe he had a vault as well. However by the look on the goblin's face he would disagree. But then just like Harry's paper, writing started to appear. The goblin's eyes widened in surprise at what was written before he looked back towards the Ashwood family. "Please follow me and I will take you to the manger of your accounts." the goblin said as he hoped off his stool and lead them to an office door sporting the name Ragnok. The goblin opened the door and motioned them inside and then closed the door behind them. "Ragnok, something has come up." The goblin said handing the two pieces of paper to Ragnok.

"I see. That will be all then." Ragnok told the other goblin who promptly excused himself. "Now, Mr. and Mrs..."

"Ashwood." John supplied.

"Mr. and Mrs. Ashwood, you two have no vault with us. However your two charges," Ragnok began but was interrupted.

"Children." Maria sternly told the goblin. "These are our children not our charges." She clarified.

Ragnok gave her a toothy smile, "I see, well your child Harry has inherited control of the Potter Family vault. Vault number 687. Do you have the key?" When the family shook their heads he continued. "No problem we will have a new one made. For today I will bypass the lock when we visit the Potter vault. Now onto you." Ragnok said looking down at Merlyn. "You Mr..."

"Ashwood." Maria supplied this time with quite a bit of pride.

"Mr. Ashwood you are the rightful owner of vault number 7, the Ambrosius Family vault." Ragnok was then interrupted by a knock at his door. "Ah, that must be your vault files." He said as a goblin came in and put two packets on Ragnok's desk. "Now would you care to see your vaults?" Both Harry and Merlyn were quite keen to find that they actually had vaults in Gringotts and headed towards the door before being stopped by their dad's voice.

"Actually, there is one more matter that we would like to discuss creating an Ashwood Family vault." John said. Maria turned toward her husband shocked. When had he decided this?

"Well it is a fairly simple matter. All we need is a blood sample and for you to select a level of security. A low security vault runs at about one hundred galleons a year, a medium security vault is five hundred galleons a year. In order to get any higher security you must already have a vault and must have had it for at least one year." Ragnok said

"Ah, that is another thing that I would like to discuss with you. What is the exchange rate?" John asked.

'Ah they are muggles that explains a lot' Ragnok thought. "Well a galleon is worth five pounds, a sickle is worth .29 pounds, and a knut is worth .01 pounds."

"Can you communicate with muggle banks or do you need cash to open an account?" John asked.

"We have human employees here at Gringotts so a check should be fine." Ragnok smiled greedily.

"Very well. I would like a low security vault." John said writing out a check for ten thousand pounds. "When will it be ready?"

"Well I can assign you a vault immediately. We also will cash any check you give us. However I will warn you. If you cross us we will come after you and get what is ours. Do you understand?" Ragnok stated threateningly. John just nodded "Now you will have vault number 912. We will stop there first. Your money should already be there. Please follow me and remember to keep your limbs inside the cart at all times." Ragnok said with a sadistic smile. He really loved peoples first cart rides.

Maria pulled her husbands arm and had him fall behind a bit so she could talk to him. "Jonathan, what was that all about? Why did you get a vault?" Maria asked using a rather stern voice letting him know that she was rather upset. "And more importantly why didn't you discuss any of this with me?" This time there was no sternness in her voice only hurt.

John was a little shocked when his wife started in on him but by the end he understood. And he needed to fix this now. "I am sorry, love. It just came to me that with our son's having vaults of their own I wasn't sure which we would use or how much money is in them. And I don't want to use their money for schooling or anything. We are their parents after all and it is our duty to pay for all of this. Getting a vault just kind of made that official that's all. Whatever money that was left for them will give them a safety net when they are older." John said as quickly as he could. He hated seeing Maria hurt like this. "And come on it is only ten thousand. We still have plenty left over from my last tour a few years ago. Remember we retired off that money and we still have quite a bit left. And remember I didn't spend the money just moved it into this bank. That's all." Maria thought about what her husband said and realized that he was right. So with a smile and a peck on the cheek they boarded the cart that was going to take them to their vault.

The ride was horrible. No question about it. Thank god it was short. The family was now standing in front of their brand new vault. Number 912, Ragnok went over to the door and ran his finger down it. A few seconds later the door started to hiss and screech. After a minute a key hole appeared in the middle of the door with the key protruding from the lock. At a gesture from Ragnok John walked up and turned the key. With the turn of the key the door started to open inward to show a rather spacious room. Inside was a mound of gold galleons, a small pile of silver sickles, and two piles of knuts. "So this is what ten thousand pounds looks like?"

"Actually this is what nine thousand five hundred looks like. We have already taken out the yearly fee." Ragnok stated.

"Well I have a feeling we will need a decent amount today. Why don't we load up your purse, love. At least until we can get a...moneybag is I suppose what is used to carry these coins around." Maria opened her purse and put a few hundred galleons inside. "Alright it looks as though it is time to visit Harry's vault." John said rather jovially. The family hopped back into the cart and zoomed off. It took a few minutes of very rough riding to get to Harry's vault. As they pulled up outside the vault everyone piled out of the cart trying not to throw up. It did take a little while for everyone to find their feet again. While the Ashwoods were finding their feet Ragnok went to the door and had it create a new key the exact same way he did with the new Ashwood Family vault.

Harry turned to his father as if to ask for permission. When he received a nod Harry slowly made his way to the door. It wasn't that he was still feeling sick, it was that this vault belonged to his parents. With one final breath he reached out and turned the key. As the doors slowly opened Harry's mouth dropped open as did the rest of his family's. Inside were mounds and mounds of gold galleons, piles and piles of silver sickles, and towers among towers of bronze knuts. Harry might not know a lot about money but he did know one thing, he was rich, very rich.

Behind Harry the rest of the Ashwoods just stood there stunned. John and Maria were flabbergasted. After all ten thousand pounds only gave them a small pile of the gold coins and here in Harry's vault were multiple mounds that were at least as high as Harry. Everyone followed Harry inside the vault. While Harry, Lynn, and Maria were all looking at the piles of money something else caught John's eye. It was an envelope, and the only thing on it was a "To Harry" in the center. John looked over his shoulder to make sure that no one was looking and pocketed the letter. John knew that if Harry saw it he would want to open and read it right then and there, and he knew that this was going to be a very emotional time for Harry. This was something that needed to be done at home. A part of him hated to postpone this letter even for a second but he knew that it would be better to wait until they got home.

"Well Harry, what do you think?" Maria asked her son.

"I'm rich. I can pay you back for all the nice clothes you bought me the other day!" Harry said happily

Maria was shocked. How could he be thinking of something like that. She needed to put a stop to this right now. She quickly knelt down in front of Harry and said, "Harry, who am I?"

"Um, my mom." Harry said a little confused.

"That's right I am your mother. Which means I get the privilege of raising you. And that means that I get to buy you clothes." Maria told her son with conviction. "Why do you want to pay us back for the clothes?"

"Well I really like it here and didn't want to be a burden. The Dursleys always said that I was a burden and I didn't want to be a burden to you." Harry told her tears starting to form in his eyes.

"Oh baby, come here." Maria said bringing her son into a tight hug. "Honey, you will never be a burden, and do you know why? Because both your father and I love you very much. We will always love you." Maria said to the now crying Harry. No one had every said anything like that to him before. Maria was very glad the Dursleys were lock up, because if they weren't then she would likely be going to jail for murder. It took a little while for both mother and son to calm down. "Alright." said Maria as she stood back up and wiped her eyes. "I think it is time we visited your brothers vault."

John watched his wife and son as they got on the cart and couldn't help a tear fall from his eye. The Dursleys had most definitely caused a lot more problems than he thought. It was a good thing both he and Maria were up to the task of helping Harry.

Another cart ride later they arrived at vault 7. This cart ride took them a lot longer than the other two. John could swear that he even saw a dragon!. Unfortunately this time the cart ride truly did a number on the occupants. The moment the family got out of the cart they all collapsed thanking God that they were all still alive.

"Now this is one of our oldest and most secure vaults so please stand back." Ragnok said to the family. He walked over to the door and once again ran his finger down it. However this time there was no hissing or screeching. In fact there was no noise at all. The door just started to melt away. Ragnok grinned at their gaping faces. "If anyone but a Gringotts' goblin tried that they would be sucked inside and trapped." The family finally got over their shock from the door to look inside the vault. What they saw shocked them even more. The vault was empty. Not a single knut.

"Um, why is it empty?" John asked.

"Well the vault has been inactive for almost two thousand years." Ragnok said startling everyone." The previous owner disappeared sometime in the late 11th century and after a decade was declared dead in absentia. His will was then carried out and so all of his possessions were donated to various organizations. Most of which went to the Order of Merlin. But as he was one of the first to become a patron of Gringotts he was given certain privileges. One of which is a permanent vault. So there are no yearly fees."

The Ashwoods spent some time exploring the large empty vault before finally conceding that it truly was empty. After a bit of looking through the vault John went up to Ragnok and asked "If I may ask who was the previous owner?".

"Oh that would be Merlin Ambrosius." Ragnok stated calmly to John's complete surprise. His son had a vault that had belonged to THE Merlin! John didn't know what to think at this particular revelation. But as he had started to think about the implications of what he had just learned Maria came up next to him and brought him back to reality. He would have to discuss this with her later. They were dreading the ride back up to the entrance as they all knew it would be longer than the others. Maria pointed out that it will end sooner if they start sooner. That didn't help much, but once she pointed out that there were a lot of magical shops to see they all scrambled to get in the cart.

"I never want to ride that cart again." Harry said as they were leaving Gringotts, causing everyone else to chuckle.

"Don't worry son. I'll ride it from now on." John told him. They family then walked down the alley and stopped into any shop that they found interesting. They popped into the stationary shop where they found an assortment of quills, inks, and parchment. John bought a decent supply of all three. Might as well get the kids used to writing with these things. They next popped into Quality Quidditch supplies. They didn't get anything there but had a blast looking around the store. The two kids were definitely interested in the broomsticks. John couldn't believe that riding broomsticks was a real thing. Maria looked around in interest but wasn't quite as excitable as the others.

The rest of the day went on from their with the family visiting many different shops and cafes all throughout Diagon Alley. By the time they left through the leaky cauldron they had quite a few bags full of books, a daily prophet subscription, and a eagle owl who was being carried by Harry and Merlyn. The large bags of books might not have drawn much attention but a owl in a cage in the middle of London sure did. There were even a few random people following them until they made it to their car. While they were driving home the kids couldn't stop playing with their new pet.

"Mom, Dad can we name him?" Harry asked.

"Sure honey just make sure that it is a good name." Maria said with a smile.

"I've got it." Merlyn shouted. "How about Dive?" Harry shook his head. "Well then how about Gizmo?" Once again Harry shot it down.

"I like Berty." Harry said but this name was shot down by Merlyn. "Okay, fine. How about Rasp?" Merlyn looked like he was giving it some serious thought but in the end shot it down like the other. The car ride went on like this the entire way home. Harry and Merlyn would come up with a name only for the other to shoot it down. When they finally reached home and the boys still hadn't come to an agreement Maria thought it was time for some new prospective.

"Alright boys, we can't very well take our owl into our house without a name so do you mind if I suggest one?" Maria asked. Harry and Merlyn looked at each other and shrugged after all they couldn't come up with a good one. Together they turned back to their mom and waited for her suggestion. "How about Casper?"

The boys both smiled and turned to their owl. "What do you think? Do you like that name?" Harry asked. In reply the owl spread his wings and hooted in approval.

"Casper it is then. Thanks mom!" Merlyn almost shouted.

When everyone got inside they let Casper out of his cage. The moment the door was open he flew into the kitchen and perched on top of the fridge. "Hungry?" Maria asked playfully. When she got a hoot and a head bob she was shocked. Apparently owls were a lot more intelligent then she thought. Well if he is hungry we better feed him. "Harry, Merlyn come over here. How would you like to feed Casper?" Two sets of nods were her answer as she dug in the fridge for some left over chicken. When she found it she pulled out two drumsticks and handed them to her kids. "Alright Casper you do know this is a special treat right. Don't expect this every day." The owl hooted his ascent. "Alright then, come on down and be gentle." Casper tilted his head as if to say 'Well duh.' "Okay, okay I get it." Casper hopped off the refrigerator and with a few flaps of his wings landed on the island looking directly at the two pieces of chicken. Harry and Merlyn held out the chicken gingerly. Casper walked over to the edge of the counter and grabbed the offered pieces of chicken, Harry's with his beak and Merlyn's with one of his talons. Once he got the chicken Casper took off and flew upstairs to his cage with the two young boys running after him.

Maria was smiling when she turned around and the smile immediately lefter her face when she saw her husband. He looked troubled. "Honey, what is it?" She asked. They had just had one of the most amazing days of their lives especially for someone like her husband who loved magic with a passion.

"It's this." John answered pulling out the letter he found in Harry's vault. "I found it in Harry's vault. I'm not sure what to do with it. Should we read it before giving it to Harry, or let him be the first to read it?" John asked his wife.

"Oh, John." Maria said covering her mouth with her hand. This is why her husband was acting so subdued all day. They both remained silent for a little while thinking hard about what to do with the letter. "I think we should read it first and then decide what to do."

"I think you're right." John agreed. He then went into the living room and sat on the couch with Maria following right behind him. Once they were both seated they carefully opened the letter and read it.

Dear Harry,

Hello son. Your mother and I are writing this while you are asleep in your mother's arms. If you are reading this then I guess we have been found and well...never mind about that. But that also means that you have been spending the last ten years with your Dogfather Sirius. Your mother and I both hope you have been happy with him. He was our best friend and we knew no one would take care of you or love you like he will. Your Dogfather is here tapping his foot waiting for us to finish this letter. He can really be touchy sometimes. But that's okay. We will write many more letters to you. That way even if the worst should happen you can get to knew us and know how much we love you. Ah but now it is time to hand the note to Sirius so that he can put it in our vault. Please don't be mad at him for keeping this from you for so long. We are the ones who asked him to wait until your eleventh birthday. Hopefully Sirius's plan works and you won't even be reading this. But if you are there is one thing we want you to know. Harry we love you more than life itself. Never forget that.

Love,

Mom and Dad

By the time they finished they were both in tears. "Well," John said while wiping his eyes, "I wish we could have met the Potters."

"So what are we going to do? Should we give him the letter now?" Maria asked.

"No. His parents wanted him to have the letter on his eleventh birthday and that is exactly when we will give it to him. In the meantime I want to find out who this Sirius person is." John told his wife. And with that he put the letter in the wall safe. "Tomorrow I will take it back to Gringotts and put it in our vault." Maria nodded. "Come on. Lets get dinner started."

"You mean you will get dinner started and I will sit in the kitchen sipping wine and looking pretty?" Maria asked playfully.

Not missing a beat John answered, "Yep."

The rest of the week seemed to fly by for the Ashwoods. John and Maria had given Harry and Merlyn the week off while they got accustomed to the wizarding world. Most of the books they bought at Flourish and Blotts had to do with history, and wizarding laws and government. However they also got a few first year school books as well as books on magical theory, John got quite a few of those. Even though it seemed as though the only thing John and Maria did during the week was read they weren't even finished with the history books. But at the end of the week they did receive a pleasant surprise in the paper. Apparently Albus Dumbledore had resigned from his position as Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They also had Minerva over for dinner a few times. Minerva who had never had John's cooking was not expecting anything special. By the time she left the first night she knew that she was wrong and most definitely looking forward to the next time she was invited over. It just so happens that she was invited over the morning that fateful prophet came out telling of Dumbledore's resignation. That night they celebrated Minerva's new position as Headmistress. Minerva was rather glad for the invitation and not just for John's food. She had a few more things to fix with John and Maria and now that Dumbledore resigned she would be able to do just that. Hopefully.

"Hello." Minerva said when Maria answered the door and invited her in. "How have you been?"

"We have been well. But it has only been a few days. We did see that you were given the Headmistress post at Hogwarts congratulations." Maria said while pouring them each a glass of wine.

"Thank you." Minerva said raising her glass and taking a sip. "Actually I must say I was happy to receive your invitation, and not just for John's cooking." She said with a chuckle. "I had a matter that I wished to discuss with you." She waited until she had Maria's full attention which didn't take long. "I wanted to talk to you and John about Harry and Merlyn."

"Oh. What about my children?" Maria asked. There was no heat or wariness in her voice. Minerva was someone whom she trusted, especially after reading about Dumbledore's resignation that morning. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Minerva had something to do with it.

"Well I wanted to ask what you were planning to do about Harry's and Merlyn's magical education once they turn eleven. I know that the previous Headmaster didn't exactly leave you with a good impression of the school but I can promise you that there will never happen again. I would like you to at least consider Hogwarts."

Maria smiled at Minerva. "Well I will tell you what so long as Dumbledore isn't there and you are Headmistress we will send them to Hogwarts. You in just getting rid of Dumbledore, a man who you seemed, at least on your first visit, to hold in high regards, have earned both my and my husband's respect." Maria told her. Minerva let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Ah now it smells like dinner is ready. Boys come on down dinner is ready." Maria shouted the last upstairs. Soon two blurs shot downstairs and into the kitchen.

Minerva gave her glass of wine a weary glance as she thought she saw an owl on one of the boy's shoulders. She was reassured she wasn't seeing things when Maria started talking while leading her to the kitchen. "You know we got Casper to be a family owl. But he seems to have rather attached himself to Lynn. Harry doesn't seem to mind but I think we will get him one of his own. Besides then Casper will have a playmate." She finished with a smile. Minerva was blown away. She had never seen anyone come to terms with the wizarding world like the Ashwoods seemed to. They acted as if this was how they had always lived this way. They even had an owl for heavens sake. She had just assumed that they used the post office in Diagon Alley. Minerva shook her head in disbelief. 'Now that all the business is taken care of all that is left is John's delicious dinner.' Minerva thought with a smile as she walked into the kitchen behind Maria.

Over the next week Maria and John had finished the history books, however the fact that two of them mentioned Harry and told of how he was the downfall of one of the worlds darkest wizards. The books never named this dark wizard however, only referring to him as you-know-who or he-who-shall-not-be-named. That in itself scared Maria because who on earth is so bad that people won't write his name down even after he is dead and gone. Now she was working on the law books and the wizarding world had some really dated laws. In fact there had only been around twenty laws introduced in the last one hundred years. One thing that puzzled her was the underage magic law. She had read something about a trace but if this was true then why didn't they receive any notices the previous year when Lynn was performing underage magic almost everyday. She decided to talk to Minerva when she came by for dinner in a few nights and in the meantime make sure both Harry and Lynn don't do any magic. John was spending his week trying to find out who this Sirius is. So far he has found out absolutely nothing, but then he has only been looking through the books that he bought. Well maybe Minerva could help him when she came by for dinner later this week.

"Minerva it's great to see you." Maria greeted as she gave Minerva a hug.

"Hello, Maria. I know I am early but I just needed to get away." Minerva told her friend. 'Friend when did that happen. This family is something else.' Minerva thought.

"Well you are always welcome here Minerva. But I do need your help if your not too worn out."

"I think I can help out a friend when she needs it. What can I do?" Minerva asked.

"Well I've been studying up on wizarding law." Maria said and Minerva was once again stunned. Most wizards and witches don't study wizard law. To be honest she didn't even know too much about it herself. "I was wondering why we haven't received any warnings from the Ministry of Magic. I mean Lynn has been doing magic for over a year and we have heard nothing."

Minerva's eyes went wide. She knew that Lynn could make a fire and levitate small objects but didn't know he had been able to do it for that long. "Well I believe that is due to the fact that Merlyn isn't eleven yet. When a young witch or wizard turns eleven the trace is activated and doesn't deactivate until their seventeenth birthday." As both Minerva and Maria were sitting down John brought each of them a glass of wine.

"Thanks honey. So why eleven?"

"Eleven is the age that witches and wizards begin their magical education." Minerva said.

"Well as long as you are answering questions I was hoping you could answer one of mine." John said and then went on to tell her about their trip to Gringotts and finding out about the kids vaults. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out Harry's letter. "I went to Gringotts earlier today and got this letter out of the vault. I would like you to read it." John said as he handed it to her. Minerva read the letter and her reaction was almost identical to Maria's. Once she finished she handed the paper back to John who folded it back up and put it away. "Now can you tell me who this Sirius is?"

Minerva took a few minutes to get her emotions back in check. "The Sirius is that letter would be Sirius Black." At the complete lack of shock on their faces Minerva had to remind herself that despite how they live now they only joined the wizarding world a few weeks ago. "Ah yes well Sirius Black is currently serving a life sentence in Azkaban. "

"I assume that is a prison." At a nod from Minerva John continued. "What did he do?"

"He betrayed Lily and James to you-know-who. He was after them and they were in hiding. They were put under a Fidelius charm. Basically the only person that can find him is a person that was designated as their secret keeper. The spell takes all knowledge of an whatever the subject of the charm is and places it inside a person, known as the secret keeper. It is rather complicated but the summary is that everyone who has knowledge of the subject forgets until either they are told by the secret keeper or the spell is lifted. Sirius was James and Lily's secret keeper. So he was the only person who could have betrayed them. And then after he-who-must-not-be-named got to them another of Lily and James' friends Peter Pettigrew went out to hunt Sirius down. Well he found Sirius but Sirius killed him and a bunch of muggles." Minerva finished with a sob. She hated thinking about the Potters. They were the best people anyone could hope to meet.

"Well I think that is enough of that for tonight. Let's go and have a good dinner." John said. When John said dinner everyone turned toward the stairs as two boys came downstairs. Minerva was only a little surprised so see a snowy owl on Harry's shoulders. "Her name is Hedwig. Harry found the name while reading one of the history books. I'm afraid he isn't as interested in history as I am." John said seeing the look on Minerva's face. John might have said that they were done but Maria could tell that he was doing a lot of thinking about all of this.

Later when dinner was over and everyone was in bed Maria decided to bring Sirius up. She really wanted to know what her husband was thinking. "So about Sirius?"

"What about him?" John asked still deep in thought.

"Oh don't give me that. I know that look. You have been doing nothing but thinking about him and that letter all evening. And you wouldn't be doing that if you had already made up your mind about him. So spill. What's going through that brain of yours?" Maria asked .

"Well, I have been thinking about everything really. From the letter to Minerva's description of the man, even though she didn't say much. At least we know why he hasn't been taking care of Harry. But something is bothering me about it. But before I make up my mind I think I need to talk to the man. I don't know what is bugging me and I can't put my finger on it and that makes it even more annoying." John explained.

"Well I will tell you one thing there is nothing you can't get out of a government so long as you fill out the right paper work. So why don't you figure out what papers are needed. And hey while your at it why don't you get us hooked up to the Floo network. After all there is nothing that says we can't be connected." And there wasn't. One of the many things that she had been researching in those law books was how much they could get away with as muggles. And funnily enough while muggles couldn't get anything, so long as there was a resident wizard the entire household was treated as a magical home in the eye's of the law. Wizarding law was weird but who's complaining.

It had taken over a month just to find the right forms to fill out to visit an inmate of Azkaban. The Ministry of Magic seemed to have more red tape then any other government in the world. The only bit of good news is that while they bury some forms like the prisoner visitation forms deep many mundane ones such as floo network connection forms were easy to find and fill out. In fact they were connected after only a week. But eventually John found the forms and made sure to grab multiple copies just in case. So now it was all a waiting game. Unfortunately it was a long wait. It took another two months before they were allowed to visit Sirius. Over those months John and Maria had started homeschooling their kids again. The subjects covered however changed a little bit. For instance history turned into wizarding history. Of course magic practice stayed the same. It took Harry a while to find that pulsing feeling but with help from his brother he was catching up. John had decided to let Merlyn practice but not move on until Harry caught up. Merlyn was fine with that since he didn't want his brother to feel like he was falling behind. However just practicing lighting candles and lifting rubber balls seemed to have an unexpected side effect. After three months of just practicing the "basics" it was becoming easier to do. John even started them on potions which he found that he seemed to have a bit of a talent for. When he brought this up to his wife she simply said that it sounded like cooking so of course he was good at it.

Finally the date for their visit to Sirius arrived. The doorbell rang early in the afternoon. John opened the door to reveal a rather cross Emily. "Hello Emily."

"Hello my arse. You both barely spoke to me for three months! Bloody hell! What is going on!?" Emily screamed giving John a hard jab in the chest venting her frustrations.

"Em, I'm sorry." John said quickly trying to minimize the damage Emily might possibly do. "Look the last few months have been rather...insane. Come in and grab a drink." John said leading her over to the couch where there was a bottle of scotch waiting.

Emily quickly downed a glass before pouring herself another to sip. This was some good scotch. "Alright, now that I'm not going to knock you down start explaining." And explain he did. John told her everything that had happened since Dumbledore's visit. It took a few hours with all the questions that Emily had for him. "Wow, you weren't kidding when you said that the last few months were insane. So you're going to visit this Sirius guy tonight?"

"Yes, but not just us, we were hoping that you would come. As you know I have my doubts about him being guilty based on that letter. I was kind of hoping you would help us. After all you are a police officer Emily."

Emily started to nod but then realized something. "Wait then who is watching the kids?" Emily asked.

"Oh there new Auntie Minnie. And yes she hates being called Auntie Minnie just as much as you hate being called Auntie Em." John said with a laugh. "Hey kids get down stairs and say hi to your Auntie." Soon after Emily saw two small boys sprint down the stairs and crash into her.

"Auntie Em!" The boys cried out.

"Hey kiddos. Did you miss your Auntie?" Both boys nodded emphatically. "Good so who is cooking dinner tonight?"

"Me!" Merlyn said. "Dad is letting me cook all on my own tonight. But he said I can't start until Aunt Minerva gets here."

"Aunt Minerva." She growled out looking directly at John and Maria who were doing an admirable job of not meeting her eyes. "Well where is Aunt Minerva?" Emily asked not taking her eyes off of the two parents.

"She should be here soon." Maria said while intently studying her glass of wine. A few minutes later the doorbell rang. "Ah, Hello Minerva." Maria greeted.

"Hello Maria. So where are you two going...Oh hello I'm sorry my name is Minerva McGonagall." She said introducing herself to Emily.

"Aunt Minerva!" The two boys shouted running to her. "Hey look what we can do now! You too Auntie Em. Come on." Each boy grabbed an Aunts hand and together they dragged them to the couch. Harry and Merlyn then went to opposite sides of the room and took out a rubber ball. "Ready,. Set. Go!" and the boys through the balls to each other. When the balls where within reach they both froze in midair. After a couple of seconds the balls began moving towards their original throwers. There was a look of intense concentration on Harry's face while Lynn was obviously pretending to have a hard time for his brothers benefit. It was rather funny since Merlyn was overdoing it. Needless to say both Emily and Minerva were very impressed. After a round of clapping and hugs of congratulation the two boys went into the kitchen for some snacks.

"Well. They seem to be progressing quite well. I would go so far as to say those two boys are prodigies." Minerva said.

"So how do we get to this Azkaban place, anyway?" Emily said wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

Minerva's head shot over to John when he mentioned Azkaban. "John you can't be serious. Azkaban is a horrible place it is guarded by..."

"Dementors, I know. Don't worry Minerva we did our research." John interrupted while he heaved a heavy book bag onto his shoulder. "Chocolate." John told her when she raised her eye brow at the bag. "But we must be off if we are to make it to the ministry on time. We will floo to the leaky cauldron and then grab a taxi to the Ministry. We are meeting a Ms. Bones of the department of Magical Law Enforcement for transportation to Azkaban. And besides Ms. Bones will be escorting us the entire time."

"Wait right there!" Emily said in a no nonsense voice. "Do you mean to say that the bag you are holding is full of chocolate? Your chocolate?" When John nodded Emily immediately ran to the fireplace and stepped inside. "To the Leaky Cauldron!" Emily said striking a classic Peter Pan pose with her hands on her hips.

"Um, Em, that is not how the floo network works." Maria said trying her best not to laugh at her friend. John broke down and had to clutch his sides he was laughing so hard. Minerva was just starring slack jawed at this weird woman. Emily looked a little sheepish, 'Well they said you step in and say where you want to go.' Emily thought to herself. Maria simply shook her head and went over to Emily and showed her how to use the floo powder.

"Now the boys need to be in bed by ten, and don't let them have to much sugar, and no more than an hour of television, and..."

"I know John." Minerva interrupted. "Don't worry everything will be fine. Just worry about yourself. I know you do your research but dementors are foul beings just remember to think happy thoughts." Minerva added. She really liked John and he was a great friend but he was extremely smart and the problem with being so smart is that one becomes overconfident.

"Alright Minerva, have a nice night." John said then disappeared in a flash of fire. Once John felt solid ground under his feet again he opened his eyes to find a rather disoriented Emily flat on her arse. "Well having a little rest are we?" John teased Emily.

"Ha ha, very funny." Emily spat back. "You know you could of warned me that traveling via fireplace was so disorienting."

"You're right. But you were rather insistent on traveling and weren't really listening." Maria told her friend.

"Maria why don't you help out Emily while I hail a taxi." John said as he headed outside. The moment he crossed the threshold the Leaky Cauldron seemed to vanish. It didn't actually go anywhere, it was only a spell to make sure muggles didn't know it was there. John was rather glad that he memorized the exact location of the door. Although he must admit that walking into a wall was a rather odd feeling. It didn't take long for John to hail a taxi and help Emily, who was still a little out of it, into the back. Soon after they were exiting the cab on Whitehall and started heading for a telephone box. They all squeezed in the phone box and John dialed 62442. A voice then filled the box.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic visitors entrance. Please state your names and purpose." said the disembodied voice.

"John Ashwood, Maria Ashwood, and Emily Stalks. We are here for a meeting with Ms. Bones." John said calmly. He was very happy he thought to ask Madame Bones what to expect. There were a few clinks in the coin return and John picked up the badges and handed one to Maria and Emily. The floor then started to move downward like a lift. A minute later the doors open and the trio stepped into the grand entryway of the Ministry of Magic. "Now lets see. I believe that we head this way and take the lift." John directed shifting his bag a little. Maybe he packed too much chocolate, but from what he read about dementors they would need it. "Department of Magical Law enforcement." He said as they stepped into the lift. Everyone was unusually quiet, John and Maria out of nervousness and Emily in anticipation of the next bit of magic.

"Department of Magical Law enforcement."

"Well it looks like we are here." John said as he cautiously stepped out of the lift. He tried not to show it but he was rather nervous. There was only one woman on the floor at the moment. Perhaps the work day was over.

"Ah, hello there. I am Amelia Bones." The woman said introducing herself.

"Hello, its a pleasure to meet you. I am John Ashwood, and this is my wife Maria. And this is Emily Stalks." John said introducing everyone. "So how are we getting to Azkaban?"

"We will be taking a portkey to a secure location and then from there we will be going by boat. Unfortunately we can't portkey directly to the island due to the wards protecting the prison. Once we are there you must not leave my side until I say so or you could end up worse than dead." Amelia told the party. "Alright everyone touch the feather. Five...Four...Three...Two...One" Everyone immediately felt a tug and started spinning. The ride didn't last long before their feet came crashing to the ground and John, Maria, and Emily fell down. "Sorry I should have warned you about the landing." The trio got up and brushed themselves off. They were off the coast somewhere. Beached not ten meters away was a wooden boat. "Right well if you will all follow me the ride should only take about half an hour." Ms. Bones said addressing the party. The ride was a rather quiet affair. When they got their first look at where they were heading a feeling of dread seeped into them. Azkaban looked like a old stone prison and gave off an air of horror. "Yes I am afraid the dementors effects surround the prison due to the concentration of them." Amelia explained when she saw their reactions. "Expecto Patronum!" Amelia shouted as a brilliant glowing brown bear shot from the tip of her wand. The effect was immediate the feeling of dread was gone. "Please stay close by." Amelia told them looking at John askance as he reached into his bag but understood when he pulled out some chocolate. When Amelia bit into her bar she was astonished, the chocolate was delicious it was right up there with some of Honeydukes' best. She would have to find out where he got it.

"So shall we head on in?" John asked. Maria and Emily were not exactly keen but nodded. The entire place looked like it hadn't been touched in centuries. Which it probably hadn't. There was slime and algae covering the walls due to being surrounded by water. "So where are the dementors?" John asked while putting another piece of chocolate in his mouth.

"They are here, in fact there are three directly in front of us." Amelia answered. When she noticed the three trying to catch sight of one she added. "I'm afraid you can't see them. They're not invisible, they are however only visible to magical beings like wizards and witches." Three sets of eyes widened at this particular bit of information. "Although I must say I am impressed that you did your homework and brought along a good supply of chocolate." Amelia commended as they went deeper into the bowls of the keep. "Here we are." John looked at the metal door with interest, there were no handles and it was solid. "I had Mr. Black moved here for your visit. It is an interrogation room." With a tap of her wand the door creaked open. John slowly entered the dimly lit room. Inside was a thick wooden chair with chains all over it. And sitting on the chair wrapped in those very chains was a starved looking man with long mangled black hair.

John wasn't sure where to start. "Excuse me, would you be Sirius Black?"

 **A/N: Thanks for reading.**

 **Please review and let me know what you think.**

 **Thank you.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Well here it is the first of the big changes. I hope you enjoy it.**

"Excuse me, would you be Sirius Black?" John asked the chained man.

The tattered man started to chuckle. "Who's asking?" This was new. He hadn't left his cell in near eight years. He was going to stretch this out as long as he could, and perhaps have a little fun with these investigators. He had no idea what they could want with him but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. At least here the effect of the dementors had lessened quite a bit. While it would probably still be hitting these newcomers quite hard it almost felt as if it was almost entirely gone for Sirius.

John was glad he thought of a way to judge the mans guilt before they came and was very glad Emily was able to come. She was always able to read people."Would you please give us some time alone with Mr. Black?" John asked Ms. Bones. She looked a little wary but as they were muggles and Black was chained securely she didn't see the harm."

"Very well but be careful. Just knock on the door when you are finished." Amelia told the trio. With a nod John turned back to the prisoner as Amelia shut the door. Maria and Emily quietly took the two seats and began watching Mr. Black. Soon John's show would begin and then they would know everything they needed.

"My name is Jonathan Ashwood." John said introducing himself.

All Sirius could think was 'Oh fantastic some old pureblood came to poke fun at the last Black.' "Oh, well Mr. Ashwood I would shake your hand and offer you a drink, however," Sirius said in a mocking tone while gesturing around with his hands as his arms were chained tightly to the chair. "My current accommodations won't allow such niceties." Sirius added giving this Mr. Ashwood a mischievous smirk from behind his mop of hair.

John watched all this and had to fight to keep a smile from his face. He had read that most people go mad after a couple of years. In fact John didn't think that the man in front of him would be sane after all these years. John went to psychiatrists during the months leading up to this visit in order to pick their brains on how to recognize if someone is unbalanced. Apparently everything is conditional and determining if someone is sane is dependent on their unique situation. When John gave the psychiatrists a hypothetical problem that was rather like Azkaban he was told only that the psychiatrists didn't think anyone would remain sane after a seven year period. However it should be very obvious one way or the other. If the way Mr. Black was acting was any indication he was somehow still sane. Now for the bit he wasn't looking forward to. Time to see if he was indeed correct about this man. So with a deep breath John put his plan into action. "Mr. Black as you may or may not know it was the wish of Lily and James Potter that you become the guardian of one Harry James Potter upon their deaths." John paused for a second to make sure both Emily and Maria could get a good read. "However as you were incarcerated almost immediately after their deaths you were unable to fulfill that wish." John wished he could see Sirius's face but his job was to keep his attention and appear to be a bureaucrat simply doing his duty. "Now it is my duty to inform you of the death of one Harry James Potter."

"WHAT! NO!" Sirius screamed. He started thrashing against the chains. In a flash Emily and Maria were up and restraining Sirius so he wouldn't hurt himself. It was a good thing he was so weak from being starved otherwise the two girls might not have been able to restrain him.

John hated to continue but it needed to be done. "I am surprised that you actually care after you ratted both Lily and James out to you-know-who." John said in a calm voice to a heavily restrained but seething Sirius Black.

"I love Harry! And I never betrayed Lily and James to Voldemort!" Sirius yelled as he started to struggle harder against the chains and the two girls.

Maria was now having a rather hard time keeping the man still and knew they weren't going to win this one by only restraining him. She quickly got her arm around the man's neck and pulled tight. It only took a few seconds before the man's screaming and thrashing stopped and he slumped in the chair unconscious. "Well that went well." Maria said while catching her breath. Wrestling with Sirius had been tiring even though he was chained to a chair.

John let out his smile. "Yes I would say it has. I mean apart from you knocking him out. How long do we have before he comes around?"

"Oh I'd say about ten minutes." Emily said while checking Sirius's heartbeat. "Oh and nice one by the way." She added to Maria who chuckled.

"So what do you two think? Did he betray the Potters?" John asked. This is why the two ladies came along after all. Emily and Maria were supposed to watch Sirius's reactions to what John was saying and find out how he actually felt. They both had interrogated many criminals after all and were quite good at it.

"Well I think he is innocent. He reacted rather violently to the news of Harry's death, which would suggest that he truly cares for the boy. When you added in the bit about ratting out the Potters he tensed. I wouldn't have even noticed had it not been for the fact that we were restraining him and so was able to feel it. Now normally I would say that is a sign of guilt but instead of shutting up he became enraged. That sort of reaction while easy to fake is very difficult to fake well and with how difficult it was to keep hold of him after that I can tell you he wasn't faking." Emily told John while Maria nodded agreeing with the assessment.

"That's good to hear. Well that at least confirms my suspicions, however he was also charged with the mass murder of thirteen muggles and one wizard by the name of Peter Pettigrew." John said. "So now we need to talk to him again. I hated doing that to him but it seemed to be the best way to determine his innocence or guilt. Now lets get him up so that we can set him straight. I hope he feels forgiving." John said as they got ready to wake the man. "Here goes nothing." He said as they started to slap him lightly to wake him up. Sirius started shifting and after a few moans his head came up.

"Ugh, what happened?" asked Sirius who was still out of it. John quickly got in front of him and grabbed the man's shoulders to make sure that he had Sirius's attention.

"Harry is alive and well! Do you understand? Harry is alive and well!" John yelled at Sirius. Sirius looked at John with anger and hope. Before Sirius could allow his mind to start working well enough to really think about what had happened John started talking to keep Sirius's mind occupied. John needed to explain everything before Sirius could think enough to doubt him.

"Let me get this straight. You adopted Harry after his relatives were sent to jail. Found out about the wizarding world. Went to Gringotts and found a letter in Harry's vault. And that letter lead you to me. You then decided to determine my innocence by telling me Harry was dead. Is that about the gist of it?" Sirius asked the three.

"Yes. I hope your are not too upset but before we did anything we needed to make sure that my hunch was correct. Now before we talk anymore you need to eat." John said as he dug out a bar of chocolate and held it in front of Sirius's mouth so that he could eat as his arms were bound to the chair. "Sorry but all we have is chocolate. While it should help with the dementors I am afraid that it is not very nutritious. Now don't eat to fast or too much. It looks like they starve you." John said with disgust.

"Well they do." Sirius told them after swallowing a small mouthful of chocolate. The effect of the chocolate was immediate Sirius felt a warmth consume his body. "That has to be the best thing I've ever had. But then when you have had only gruel for the past seven years anything would taste amazing. Thank you." Sirius got out before taking another bite.

"Well I'm sorry that the only think I brought was chocolate. I promise something a lot more appetizing on my next visit." John said as Sirius was chewing and letting the chocolate melt wonderfully in his mouth. "But I am afraid I am curious about a few things can you..." John was interrupted by the sound of a knock on the door. "Damn, I was hoping for more time. Alright here just let it melt and swallow it slowly over time. We will be back as soon as possible." John told Sirius quickly as he shoveled a few pieces of chocolate in Sirius's mouth. He barely finished and got back across the room when the door opened.

"I hope you got what you needed as your time is up. We need to leave now." Amelia said to the group.

"I am afraid not. I will need to put in another visitation request as soon as we get back to the Ministry." John told her. While John was occupying Ms. Bones, Emily shot the raggedy man a warm smile and mouthed 'Hang in there.' Sirius responded with a goofy grin that made Emily giggle. Maria, who had noticed that particular exchange, was giving her friend a 'What was that?' look. Emily simply mouthed 'Later'.

The trip back to the Ministry was uneventful "So what do I need to do to schedule another visit?" John asked Ms. Bones.

"The same things you did to get this one." She replied looking at him as if he was a little slow.

"Oh, really? I thought once you were in the system it would be different." John said trying to explain his reasoning.

"Nope. Just fill out the same papers you did for this meeting." Amelia told him. "Have a good evening." With that Amelia escorted the visitors to the lift.

Everyone kept quiet as they exited the Ministry. John hailed a taxi as the two women started talking. John wasn't paying much attention, his mind was on everything he had learned tonight. First and foremost Sirius was innocent of the charges when it came to the Potters. He still didn't know about Pettigrew however. He would need to find out during his next visit. He was hoping that if the man was innocent that he could bring Harry along but until he found out more about the charges regarding Peter Pettigrew, Harry would be staying at home.

While John was lost in his thoughts the two women were in a deep conversation. "So are you alright? I mean with all of this." Maria asked gesturing all around herself.

"You mean the taxi? Sure it's not like I've never taken a taxi before." Emily responded hiding her smile as she played with her friend. Maria deserved it for keeping the whole 'our children are wizards, wizards and witches exist, Harry's godfather is a convicted murderer, oh and lets not forget that we have known this for months'. Yes Maria definitely deserved this.

"What? No! I mean with the whole..." Maria started but was interrupted by a rather loud cough from John who had apparently come out of his thoughts.

"Later." He said in a low voice. The rest of the ride had a lot of quiet tension between Emily and Maria. John just sat there hoping that the two women could at least make it to the Leaky Cauldron. In fact they did, although they looked like they were going to pop the moment they crossed the threshold. "Why don't you two grab a booth and I'll fetch us a couple of drinks." John said as he headed to the bar. 'Honestly what is going on with those two. They get like this every once in a while, but it had been so long since then I thought they grew past whatever it was. If I remember correctly the last time those two were like this was when...No. No it couldn't be. But who it seemed to start when...Oh dear God.' John thought to himself as he went up to Tom the barman. "Hello Tom."

"John, it's good to see you." Tom replied. "Please take a seat and let me know what I can get you."

"Actually I'm here with my wife and family friend. We are seated right over..." John paused as he turned around looking for the ladies, "there. I'm not really sure what she wants so why don't you just bring over three firewhiskeys, a butterbeer, and some Bungbarrel Spiced Mead. She will be able to try a little of each." John said to Tom. "It's a good thing she is a heavy drinker." John muttered under his breath as he rejoined the girls. When he got there the two were in giggling like schoolgirls. Oh no.

While John was at the bar the two women found a booth and had barely been seated for a second before Maria started again. "You know I wasn't talking about the taxi. I meant the whole wizarding world thing!" Emily couldn't take it anymore and burst out laughing.

"Alright, alright!" Emily barely got out over her laughter. After a few minutes she got it under control. "Sorry I just couldn't help myself after keeping everything from me for so long." Emily explained narrowing her eyes at Maria.

"I'm sorry but it wasn't because we didn't want to. It was because it is against the law. Well the magical law anyway. Between the law, Sirius, and the whole wizarding world we were run ragged. I'm sorry Em. In fact we might get into quite a bit of trouble for cluing you in so keep your mouth shut about it alright. I mean the worst that will likely happen is that the Ministry sends an obliviator and wipe out your memories." Maria apologized and explained leaving a serious look on her friends face. She really did mean it and she had missed her best friend over the past few months.

"It's fine. I might be a little hurt about you not telling me for all these months but you finally did. Besides you gave me one hell of an adventure tonight, not to mention as much of John's chocolate as I can eat." Emily told her friend. "And who can forget that rather dashing prisoner." She whispered leaning towards Maria conspiratorially. Maria's eyes bulged.

"I knew it!" Maria quietly exclaimed. "But what on earth? Why?"

"Oh come on Maria. I know you've been married for a while but you should still be able to recognize a handsome man when you see one." Emily jibbed playfully. "And besides didn't you notice how strong he was even after being starved. And the way he fought when he heard that Harry was dead, that kind of love is actually quite romantic. God the guy is the whole package, too bad he's locked up." Emily started going on her voice becoming dreamier by the second but looked down with disappointment at the end.

Maria was astounded, Emily had always been a bit of a tomboy. Never seeming to like romance or anything that was considered girly for that matter. In fact her last relationship ended over four years ago when she decided that she didn't like being the man in the relationship. Since then no man had been brave enough to even try. Maria couldn't stop the giggles that came now. "I can't believe it. For a woman who has sworn off men to fall for a convicted mass murderer!"

"Hey! Didn't we just prove that he is innocent! And besides I only swore off of pathetic men and you took the only non pathetic man that I know. Well...knew." Emily said excitedly trying to keep her smile from splitting her face in two. "Can you really blame me. And besides aren't we going to prove his innocence and get him out of there. We are getting him out right?" Emily asked with a bit of anxiety. First and foremost this was Harry's godfather. Second he was innocent. And third he was cute!

"Well we still need to see about the mass murder charge. But if he is innocent of that as well then absolutely we will do our best to get him out." Maria said aghast that Emily would think that there was even a possibility they would leave an innocent man in prison. "At the very least we would get him out so you can finally get a date." Maria joked as both girls burst into giggles just as John sat down next to them.

"Alright, please tell me that I'm reading this wrong." John begged. Maria and Emily just giggled harder. A few moments later the drinks arrived ending the girls giggles.

"Well there is quite a lot of booze John. Are we throwing a party?" Emily asked eyes wide.

"Actually I wasn't sure what you would like so I covered my bases. Consider it an apology for not keeping you in the loop for the past few months." John answered. He did actually feel bad forgetting about her but with everything going on Emily took a back seat. Time to fix his mistake.

"First all the chocolate I can eat, and now showering me with alcohol. It is a good start." Emily said as she picked up the butterbeer and gave it a sip. It was good. Really good. She quickly downed the drink ready to try the next one.

"And don't forget we just got through introducing you to your future husband." Maria added. 'I knew it. Somehow I just knew it.' John thought as his head dropped.

"Alright, your forgiven...once you hand over the rest of that chocolate. And what is this?" She asked putting down her now empty butterbeer.

"That would be butterbeer." John said as he passed the bag full of chocolate over to Emily.

"It is my new favorite drink. Now what are these?" She asked accepting the bag.

"Well this one is spiced mead, and the other is firewhiskey." Maria told her friend taking a sip of her own firewhiskey. Emily picked up the mead and gave it a little sip. It wasn't bad but she liked her drinks with a bit more of a kick. She just put it back down and picked up the firewhiskey. The instant she sipped the golden liquid she felt a burning sensation going down her throat and then a warmth spread out over her entire body. Now this was a drink!

"Whoa! Now this I like! You're paying right John?" Emily asked and got a nod in return. With a wry smile she got up and went over to the bar. When she came back she had two bottles of the firewhiskey. John simply lowered his face into his hands as he shook his head.

"Alright I think it's about time to head back home." John said as he watched Emily put the two bottles in the bag with the chocolate. "Maria why don't you and Emily floo home while I pay the bill. I'll be home soon." He told his wife giving her a peck on the cheek.

The next few months seemed to fly by. The kids homeschooling was going extremely well. Maria had taken over the basic classes like math and science so that John had more time to study the subjects of potions and magic. Now as it turned out creating potions is basically just cooking with magical ingredients. Although if you screw up then the concoction might explode rather than just have a bad taste. A lesson John learned the hard way. Fortunately the cauldron only melted instead of blowing up. From then on it was determined that all potion making would be done outside. After that first unfortunate accident John had taken to potions like a fish to water. There were of course a few hiccups here and there, but the largest problem that John ran into were his prankster sons. Since all of the potions that he would be working on were relatively harmless Harry and Merlyn thought they would be the perfect tools for pranks. After the pink and purple hair indecent John and Maria decided they needed to have a talk with the kids.

"Boys come down stairs we need to have a talk!" Maria shouted up the stairway. The kids knew they were in trouble. Their mom doesn't really get mad but when she does you need to run. "Now kids we haven't punished you before for your pranks, but that is about to change." The two brothers eyes went wide. They loved their pranking. "Now here are the new rules. No prank can have effects that last longer than half an hour. We cannot catch you performing the prank. And finally you are not allowed to use any of your fathers potions." With each new rule the boys mouths dropped more and more. This is not what they were expecting. Maria looked at her two boys and smiled, all her anger gone. She really did love her kids, their pranks were always funny. The only reason she came down on them this time was because the potion that they chose to use permanently changed her hair color to pink. John was currently in the back yard, with his purple hair, trying to find a way to turn their hair back.

That was life for the Ashwoods. Soon the date for their next visit to Azkaban arrived. "John do you have everything? You know that they will be here soon."

"I know. Everything is ready to go once Minerva and Emily get here." John called out from the kitchen. This time he wasn't only taking chocolate. He had also made a nutrient potion the other day just for Sirius, and yesterday he cooked a chicken for him. After reading up on how to help people with anorexia and bulimia. He wanted to know what was needed for people who's stomach had shrunk due to the fact that Sirius's had because of starvation. So no starch. Meat and veggies only. Right as he was finishing his packing the doorbell rang.

The trip to Azkaban went just as it did the first time. This time however it was not Ms. Bones that took them to Azkaban but a Mr. Brown. He was quiet for the entire boat ride and didn't even create a patronus until after they landed on the island. Needless to say a decent amount of chocolate was consumed on the boat. When they asked if they could be alone with the prisoner he allowed it. You know it is amazing what you can get away with when you are a muggle in the wizarding world. No one ever expects you to do anything or rather they don't expect you to be able to do anything. Not that they were complaining.

"Well you look like shit." Emily said with a grin.

"Well that's a pity. Will it ruin our date then?" Sirius asked playfully back. His eyebrows raised when he heard a few clinks coming from John's bag. "You brought me a present? Oh, you shouldn't have." He made a show of looking around the room as if just noticing the horrid conditions. "But then again..." he let out with a chuckle.

"Oh shut up and eat. We only have a half hour. I swear six hours of paperwork for only a half hour visit is ridiculous." John complained as he pulled out the chicken. "Now how are we going to do this?" John asked wondering just how Sirius was going to eat the chicken. He obviously knew what he would do but he wanted Sirius to be able to at least choose how he was going to be fed.

"Well you could always sit on my lap and feed me." Sirius suggested with grin. However the grin left his face immediately when Emily grabbed the chicken and plopped onto his lap.

"Alrighty big boy time for you to eat your dinner." Emily said as she sat on his lap and started to tear off a piece of chicken. Sirius was about to say something but the moment his mouth opened to speak Emily shoved a piece of chicken in. "No, no, no, eat now talk later. Got it?" Sirius's answer was to open his mouth for another piece of chicken. Just as he was about to take the next piece Emily decided to have some fun and wiggled her butt on Sirius's lap. His eyes went up to hers and when she gave him a flirtatious smile Sirius gave her a mischievous grin letting her know he was not going to loose this little game.

With all the flirting it took a little longer to finish the chicken then John would have liked. "Alright, alright that is enough. You two can go at it again next week we are currently running out of time." John said admonishing the two in front of him. Emily slowly got off of Sirius, which Sirius seemed to enjoy. "Sirius before we do anything else I need you to tell us what happened with Pettigrew and all those muggles you were accused of killing." Sirius's winks and smiles went away in the blink of an eye.

"Well that's simple Peter was Lily and James's secret keeper." Sirius said as if that should of explained everything. For John it did but Maria and Emily were lost so Sirius continued. "He was the only one who could have sold out the Potters to Voldemort." A look of understanding showed on Maria and Emily's faces. "So I hunted him down and attempted to kill him. But he had used brains that I never knew he had. The moment I backed him into a corner he shouted out how I betrayed Lily and James. He then pointed his wand from behind his back and blew up the street killing all those people. He cut off his finger and turned into a rat." At the others surprised looks Sirius explained. "Some wizards can become animals at will. It is a lengthy process and to long and complicated to go into now. But the Ministry makes you register if you become an animagus. Lets just say Peter never did. And I have no idea where he is or I wouldn't be in here now." This news made John smile. Finally he knew that Harry's godfather was entirely innocent.

"Thank you. Now I don't know how much time we have left so quickly swallow this." John said pulling out one of the vials of potion. "It's a nutrients potion." Sirius gulped down the potion with a grimace.

"You would think that after all these centuries we could make potions taste better." Sirius complained. "Thank you." Sirius said. He hadn't received treatment like this in over seven years. "Can I ask you for a favor?" John nodded. "I'd like to see my godson." Sirius said pleadingly.

"Well I was actually planning on bringing him next week but I have to tell you the guy who brought us here this time only cast a patronus once we reached the island. I believe that you are innocent and I want Harry to meet his godfather but what kind of father would I be if I brought him here and let him relive his worst memories." John explained. Sirius looked disappointed but not only did he understand, he agreed with John. "However if we can arrange for Ms. Bones to be our escort then I'll bring him." Sirius's face lit up. He was going to see his godson again. "Now before we leave we need to hide these on you." John said becoming serious as he pulled out four more tubes of nutrient potions. "Do they search you before you go back to your cell?"

"They didn't last time. I think it's because you are muggles. Wizarding arrogance if you ask me but I'm not about to complain." Sirius said while shaking his head.

"Good. Then we can give you some chocolate as well. Don't eat it all at once. We will be back next week so make sure to take that potion once a day. Don't let them see the vials, just keep them hidden and we can switch them out during our next visit." Not long after they got everything situated there came a knock. It was time to go. "See you in a week."

"Don't I get a kiss?" Sirius asked, flirting one last time with Emily.

"Nope, you're not my type. Too skinny. You know you should eat more." She flirted back. Giving his hand one last squeeze she headed toward the door.

The weeks seemed to fly by. When it came to schooling, Harry and Merlyn began to throw themselves into their studying, well at least when it came to their magic and potions classes. After all they weren't allowed to use their dad's potions in their pranks anymore, and potions made pranks so much better. When it came to Sirius, John tried to request Ms. Bones as their escort but no matter which way he worded the request or whatever forms he filled out it never happened. Eventually John got fed up with the ministry paperwork and decided to write directly to Ms. Bones to ask that she meet him at the Leaky Cauldron. So now we find John sitting at the bar in the Leaky Cauldron waiting for Ms. Bones to arrive. He was a little early so wasn't disappointed that Ms. Bones was not there yet. Right when the clock on the wall chimed John saw Ms. Bones come out of a bright green fire. He immediately got up and went over to her with two glasses of firewhiskey.

"Ms. Bones thank you for meeting with me." John greeted gesturing towards a booth.

"It's quite alright. I must admit a was a little surprised at your letter. What can I do for you?"

"Well there a couple of matters that I wish to discuss with you. First of which is my next visit to Azkaban. You see all of our visits apart from our first with you have been rather nasty due to the fact that our escorts don't cast a patronus until we reach the island, and I must say that because of that the boat rides to the island have been horrid."

"I can understand your feelings Mr. Ashwood but your escorts are following protocol. They are only required to use a patronus while on the island, so I do not see what I can do." Amelia said trying not to just blow Mr. Ashwood off, but really what did he expect her to do? After all visits to Azkaban are rare and before Mr. Ashwood no one had made so many regular visits to the prison.

"Well normally I wouldn't mind a little discomfort but I wish to take my son on our next visit." John said shocking Amelia. Merlin's beard, why would anyone want to take a child to that place? "You see my son's godfather is there." John told her.

It took a few minutes for Amelia to shake off her shock. "Sirius Black?" John nodded. "I was unaware you had named him your son's godfather. But I must ask why did you? I mean he is a mass murderer!?"

John smiled and shook his head. "No Ms. Bones he is not. Also I was not the one who named him as my son's godfather. My son's biological parent's did before they were murdered."

"Just who is your son?"

"His name is Harry Potter." This shocked the hell out of Amelia but John simply continued. "Although we haven't brought it up with him yet. That is why we have been visiting Mr. Black regularly. I am quite convinced that Mr. Black is completely innocent of the charges for which he was incarcerated."

Amelia just shook her head at the muggle. "And how, may I ask, did you come to that conclusion?"

"Well in fact I had no knowledge of him until a short while after we adopted Harry. When we were introduced to the wizarding world we went to Gringotts and found that Harry had a vault. When we visited the vault I found a letter written by the Potter's addressed to their son in case of their demise. After reading the letter I set out to find Mr. Black to find out how he could have given Harry to those horrible relatives of his." Amelia had a perplexed look on her face as John continued. "When I found out what had become of Mr. Black and why he was incarcerated I went back to the letter and found that something wasn't sitting right with me. So I went to go and talk with Sirius at Azkaban." John then continued to explain what had occurred during his first and subsequent visits. As he continued Amelia's look of shock became more and more pronounced. "We have been trying to find evidence that would exonerate him. Now while we found the transcripts of his trial and realized that at the very least we could get a retrial based on the way his first one was carried out it would do no good as everyone believes him guilty and we haven't been able to find enough evidence to potentially change the verdict." John finished a little depressed.

"What do you mean? How was the original trial conducted?" Amelia asked. Now she had heard many people claim that their friends or relatives were innocent but none had actually tried to do anything about it apart from making complaints. The fact that she believed John to be an intelligent man added to her curiosity.

"Well first off Sirius was not even present for the trial. In addition there was no defense offered for him. In fact the only things that were brought forward were the few witness statements from muggles." Amelia was shocked, John wasn't kidding when he said that he could get a retrial for Sirius. "Honestly it is sad but all we have at this point is Sirius's testimony and lack of any motive. Well in the case of Pettigrew he has plenty of motive but he also says that Pettigrew is still alive so no case of murder exists. You know it is a shame that there isn't a spell or potion that could verify he is telling the truth."

Amelia didn't know what to say. There were of course a few ways to verify a statement. One was of course veritaserum, another was by the use of a pensieve. Both were rather hard to come by. Pensieves were simply a rarity and quite expensive if you were able to find one. Veritaserum was a restricted potion, only a handful of people actually knew how to make it and then it was always kept under lock and key. Finding someone who had a pensieve and would willingly let it be used by another while unlikely was the best way to go. The Ministry would never allow the use of its stock of veritaserum on a convicted murderer. It was only used to determine guilt in extreme circumstances. "There are a few ways. One is a potion called veritaserum, and the other is to use a device known as a pensieve, it is used to view memories.

"What!?" John exclaimed. "Why haven't I heard about these before? I mean I understand the pensieve as I've only been looking into spells and potions but what about veritaserum?"

"The Ministry has labeled veritaserum as a restricted potion and so knowledge of it isn't widely known. Any book containing information about it is also restricted. So you wouldn't find it in Flourish and Blotts. Now can you tell me what made you think Mr. Black was innocent in the first place?"

"Well I only had a feeling he was innocent of betraying the Potters. I didn't know about the mass murder but I figured that if he was innocent of one he would be innocent of the other." John then told Amelia about the contents of the letter, just the parts mentioning Sirius. "So you see if Sirius was going to betray the Potters then why would he have put the letter in the vault. No one else knew of the letter so if it was missing it wouldn't of mattered. There would have literally been no point to going to the Potter vault. Then of course if he was intending to betray the Potters then going to their vault a few days before they died would have raised suspicion if he had been able to get away." Amelia had to admit that John made valid points.

"I need to see to a few things but if everything pans out I can arrange to be your escort from now on." She didn't want to mention that if what she had in mind worked then Sirius would be a free man. That is of course he was innocent.

"Thank you. I guess that we will see you this weekend." John said his goodbye and walked to the fireplace.

"Thank you for meeting with me Dumbledore." Amelia said as she stood motioning to the chair on the other side of her desk.

"No trouble of course. Although I am interested in why you asked me to bring my pensieve." Dumbledore said as he took the offered seat.

"I believe that there may have been a miscarriage of justice. I either needed a pensieve or veritaserum and to be honest this was the easier route." At Dumbledore's nod she continued. "I believe that a Mr. Black has been unjustly sentenced to Azkaban." This took Dumbledore by surprise. He after all was a witness at his trial and spoke against him. Sirius was after all the Potter's secret keeper. But he knew Amelia Bones well, she was not stupid so there must be a reason she believes this. "Would you come with me to hear his statement?"

"Very well. But I must admit that I don't believe this will change anything." Dumbledore noted.

"I understand and I must admit that I wouldn't even be considering this if it wasn't for an interesting conversation I had the other day with a Mr. Ashwood." Dumbledore was now fully attentive as Amelia informed him about everything that Mr. Ashwood had told her at the Leaky Cauldron. "So as you can see this is a new point of view that I believe is at least worth looking into." Dumbledore was astounded. This didn't make since at all. James was adamant about Sirius being his secret keeper. But if this was true then why didn't the Potters inform him. He was the head of the order after all and even offered himself to be their secret keeper. Did they not trust him? No thoughts like that were for later. Now was the time to either confirm what he believed to be the truth or to find what truly happened.

"Lead the way Ms. Bones."

A mere half hour later both Amelia and Albus were opening the door to the interrogation room to find a chained Sirius Black. The moment the door started to open they heard Sirius's voice. "Ah I knew you couldn't stay away." His voice was jolly as was the look on his face, that is until he spotted who his visitors were. He immediately became quiet and withdrawn. "Ah, I'm sorry I was expecting someone else. So what can I do for my jailer today?" Sirius asked with a sneer. This turned from a pleasant surprise to an unwelcome one in an instant.

"Mr. Black some information has been brought to my attention that you may well be innocent of the charges you were incarcerated for. We are here today to give you a chance to prove your innocence." Sirius was stunned. This had John written all over it but why didn't he ever tell him that he was working on a way to free him? "Albus Dumbledore has consented to the use of his pensieve during this interrogation. Now all we need are certain memories from you. Do you consent to us viewing your memories using this pensieve?" Sirius nodded. It was not like they could do anything worse as they had already sentenced him. "Very well. We will now extract any memories you wish to give regarding the fidelius charm used on the Potters as well as any that have to do with their choice of secret keeper." The process took a few minutes. "Now we will extract your memories regarding the charges of mass murder and Peter Pettigrew." Once again the process took some time. Extracting ones own memories was not difficult however extracting someone else's needed to be done with care. It could not be done with an unwilling subject but accidents are more likely to happen. Soon enough the pensieve had all the memories. "Thank you for your cooperation. If you will please wait while we examine your memories." Amelia said as she leaned over the pensieve with Dumbledore doing so moments later.

Amelia felt like she was falling into another world. What an interesting sensation. When she looked up she found Dumbledore right beside her. They nodded to one another and watched the scene unfold in front of them.

A much younger Sirius Black was currently walking up to a house in Godric's Hollow. Once he arrived and knocked on the door it opened to see a rather run down looking James Potter. "Sirius!" James whispered happily. "What are you doing here you know the charm wont be ready to cast until tomorrow?"

"I know. That is what I wanted to talk to you about." Sirius said seriously.

"Well don't stand there come on in but please be quiet. Harry just fell asleep." James said. Sirius followed James inside and locked the door. "Well don't just keep quiet is something the matter?"

"I think you should use Peter." Sirius told his best friend. As James was about to object Sirius cut him off. "Look I know you want me to be the secret keeper and I'm honored but I have been doing a lot of thinking. Everyone expects you to choose me. Now I will gladly give up my life to keep you safe and you know it but Voldemort has many ways of extracting information. And when they get their hands on me he will do whatever his twisted mind can think of to get the information. Hell I wouldn't be surprised if he had a potions master make him some veritaserum." At this James looked thoughtful. It was a logical argument. But Voldemort could do the same with any secret keeper and he told Sirius as much. "I know don't you think I've thought of that? Look I think it would be better to use Peter because no one would ever think you would use him. If we keep who your secret keeper is a secret then they won't be able to get the person who can tell them in the first place."

James sat down and poured them each a drink as he thought about Sirius's plan. He couldn't fault it. True Peter was his good friend but he trusted Sirius more than anyone. "You really think this is the best way to go?" James asked his eyes glued to his drink.

"Yes." Sirius said not taking his eye's off his own.

"Alright. I'll let Lily know when she wakes up. She's currently sleeping with Harry."

The memory faded as a new one took its place. Albus and Amelia are once again outside watching Sirius Black standing across the street from a few houses. However the Potters house was no where to be seen. The fidelius charm had obviously been cast. This at least proved that Sirius was not the secret keeper. After a couple of moments Peter Pettigrew appeared out of thin air and walked over to Sirius. Peter walked right up to Sirius and started to whisper in his ear. As soon as Pettigrew pulled away the Potter's cottage seemed to push the other two properties out of the way as it sprung into existence. The memory then faded. "Well I believe that confirms that Sirius Black was not the Potter's secret keeper." Amelia said and Dumbledore couldn't help but agree.

A new memory faded into existence. They were standing in the middle of a muggle town. They saw a scared looking Peter Pettigrew running away from a furious Sirius. "You're not getting away from me you bloody rat!" Sirius cornered Peter and began to stride menacingly towards him. "I've got you now you piece of filth!" Sirius said softly.

Just as Sirius was a few meters away Peter started shouting "Sirius how could you betray Lily and James!" As he was shouting he pointed his wand behind his back and uttered a spell that tore up the street and killed a bunch of muggles. Amelia couldn't take her eye's off of what was occurring right in front of her and it was a good thing she didn't as she saw Peter cut off his own finger and transform into a rat which ran into the sewers.

"I think it is time to leave." Amelia blinked and when she opened her eyes she was back in the interrogation room. "Dumbledore I know this is sudden but as chief warlock you do have the authority to call an emergency meeting of the Wizengamot."

Dumbledore nodded and began to leave before turning back to a still angry Sirius. "I know that I do not deserve any forgiveness from you Sirius. But I am sorry."

"You have a lot to answer for Dumbledore." Stated Sirius. "Not for this. John told me what you did to my godson. You may not need forgiveness for this as you truly believed I was the secret keeper but for what you did to Harry there is no forgiveness." Sirius told the chief warlock coldly.

"Yes I have no doubt I will be making a good many apologies this week."

"Mr. Black I wish to convey to you my apologies for this serious miscarriage of justice. Now the Wizengamot will not be able to meet until tomorrow but for now I have the authority to at least move you to a holding cell at the Ministry.

A few days later we find John, Maria, and Harry walking into the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. John looked for Ms. Bones but couldn't see her anywhere. He walked up to who appeared to be a secretary. "Excuse me we are here to meet with Ms. Bones."

"Oh, you must be the Ashwoods." At a nod from John she continued. "I am sorry but Ms. Bones is currently unavailable. She did say that she was expecting you and if she had not returned to allow you to wait in her office." The secretary finished gesturing to a door with a placard that read 'Amelia Bones'.

"Thank you." John said as he took his family into the office. The family all took a seat as they anxiously waited for Madame Bones. The long minutes turned into an hour. Harry was beginning to feel a little uneasy. Earlier his parents had sat both Merlyn and him down and explained about Sirius. Harry was very nervous about meeting his godfather. His father told him that the only reason he was in prison and that Sirius loved him very much but it didn't really help all that much. Merlyn really wanted to come but they only had three visitor passes. Finally the door opened and in came Ms. Bones and to the surprise of the Ashwood patriarchs, Sirius.

Once everyone had settled down Amelia began to explain what had occurred after her meeting with John at the Leaky Cauldron. She had indeed gotten Sirius a retrial on the basis that his original one had been irregular to say the least. The new trial had lasted two days and had only just ended. John and Maria were both shocked that Dumbledore was involved and even more so that he was the reason Sirius was found innocent. Dumbledore hadn't exactly made the best impression on them so far. Harry was starring at his godfather the entire time and Sirius was starring right back. John and Maria were very glad at that moment they had smuggled in food and nutrient potions to Sirius. He had put on some weight, although not back to his former glory he looked a damn sight better than he had on their first visit. After the explanations were over Sirius got up and went to his godson. "Hello Harry. Do you know who I am?"

"You're my godfather, Sirius Black." Harry answered shyly. He didn't really know what to do or what to say.

"That's right." Sirius said as he knelt down in front of Harry. "The last time I saw you, you were only a year old. I've missed you Harry." Sirius said trying to keep talking but was having trouble finding the words. Right here in front of him was his godson, a boy he loved as much as if he was his own. "I would like for us to get to know each other. Would that be alright?" Sirius asked more nervous in that moment then he thought he had ever been in his entire life. Harry couldn't find his voice and just nodded toward the man.

During all of this John and Maria were sharing the same thought, 'What do we do now?' "Um Sirius do you have a place to stay?" Maria asked tentatively.

"Not exactly. There is the old family home but no one has been there for a long time. A lot longer than I was in Azkaban. But I've got money so for now I will take a room at the Leaky Cauldron." Sirius told them still not entirely believing this was all happening.

"Nonsense." John stated. "You can stay with us." Maria's and Sirius's mouths dropped. John quickly continued, "It will be easier than you getting a room and it will give you and Harry more time to get reacquainted. Are you alright with that Harry?" Harry wasn't sure. He didn't remember the man at all but he trusted his parents so he nodded still not able to find his voice. The group soon left the Ministry and headed home. The trip home was exciting at least for Sirius and Harry. John and Maria weren't sure what to say so they opted to stay silent in the cab. Over the last few months John and Maria had filled him in on Harry's life so far but he still had many questions. It didn't take long for the two to start reconnecting. A few questions here, a few jokes there and Harry was smiling and laughing right alongside his godfather. By the time they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron Harry was very happy that Sirius was coming to live with them. "Harry why don't you floo home and let your brother and Emily know about what happened. We need to talk to Sirius for a moment and will floo home soon." Harry nodded and headed toward the fireplace but stopped before he stepped in and turned around. He ran over to Sirius and gave him a hug. Sirius was stunned and doing his best not to cry as he returned the tight hug. After Harry flooed home John turned to Sirius. He was about to ask Sirius a question but was interrupted by a hug from said man.

"Thank you. For getting me out. I know it was Bones and Dumbledore that did the deed but I also know they wouldn't have done any of it had you not talked to Amelia in the first place."

John chuckled once he regained his wits. "It was nothing Sirius. But there is something I wanted to talk to you about." John said as he led Sirius and Maria to a table. "What do you plan to do about Harry? I know you are his godfather but he is my son and, as good a man as I think you are, I will not give up my son without a fight." John said in a tone that showed just how serious he was.

Sirius looked thoughtful. He often imagined getting out and being a true godfather to Harry but could he really in good conscious take Harry away from these people. After all not only did they save him from Azkaban but more importantly saved Harry from the Dursleys and gave him a loving family. No, he couldn't. "As much as I wish I could be his father he already has a damn good one so no. I won't try to take him away from you. But after I get back on my feet I hope that you will still let me visit him."

John could not find a single fault in the man. Over the past few months as he has been visiting Sirius in Azkaban he found that he rather liked the man. Now he knew just how much he cared for his son. John decided to have a little fun with his son's godfather. He looked right at Sirius with his most serious face and said "If you so much as stay away for longer than three days we will have a problem. You will always be welcome at our house." Towards the end he couldn't help but smile and Sirius grinned right along with him happy to know that he would always have access to his godson. "Now that that is taken care of lets go home. I have a feeling we shouldn't wait to much longer or Emily will be rather cross." At the mention of Emily Sirius perked up.

"Emily is waiting? Tell you what I think I'll stick around in Diagon Alley for a little bit and floo over in about an hour. Do you think I've filled out enough?" Sirius asked.

Maria laughed as she watched the free man looking himself over. It was like he was getting ready for his first date. Which he just might be now that she thought of it. "I don't know but you better not take to long." The moment she finished Sirius gave a salute and ran to the alley to do some shopping. "Come on lets go home. I think Emily will be going stir crazy by now."

When Maria and John walked out of the fireplace they found their kids waiting for them. But funnily enough no Emily. "Where is Auntie Em?" Maria asked.

"She said she was going to take a shower." Lynn said.

Almost an hour later Emily was waiting in the living room while the rest of the family was in the kitchen preparing dinner. Well the boys were, Maria just watched. They wanted to give Emily and Sirius some time to themselves. Over the past few months Emily and Sirius had grown rather close. She even filled out the paperwork so that she could visit more often. Lately she had been going twice a week in addition to going with John and Maria. Nothing more than flirting ever happened. Most of the time she and Sirius just talked until she was forced to leave. Maria would claim that this was the most she had ever dated a man and that in order to get it the man had to be chained to a chair. What shocked Maria the most was that Emily would never rise to the bait.

Sirius was now back in the Leaky Cauldron checking over his appearance. 'Well it is now or never.' Sirius thought as he stepped into the fireplace. A flash of green fire later and he was walking into the Ashwoods living room. The moment Sirius emerged in the Ashwoods living room he saw Emily standing right in front of him. Before he could even utter a single word Emily wrapped her arms around his neck and crushed his lips to hers. Sirius's world exploded. He reciprocated with all the passion that had been building up ever since he met her all those months ago. It took a couple of minutes before the two ended the kiss so they could breathe but staying in each others arms. "If that is the welcome I will always receive I think I might just go back to Azkaban for a while just so I can get released again."

Emily moved her hand to the back of his head and grabbed Sirius's hair. "Don't you dare." Emily breathed out as she brought his head down and into another passionate kiss.

"Yes ma'am." Sirius breathed still dizzy after that kiss. "I take it I've filled out enough for you then?" Sirius asked giving her a roguish grin.

"No. You simply are taking to long." Emily quipped right back as she laid her head on his chest and held him. "But I'm not too worried about it. Spend a few weeks eating John's food and you should look passable."

"I think we can arrange that." Said a voice coming from the kitchen doorway. "You know this isn't exactly what I pictured when you said you wanted to welcome Sirius. I thought you would have beaten him to a pulp for taking so long to get out." John said laughing.

"Oh don't worry about that. He'll get his beating later." Emily said before giving Sirius a quick peck on the cheek.

"Well come on you two dinner is ready." John told them.

"We'll be there in a second." Emily told him before turning back to Sirius.

"So I take it that I don't get to take you out to dinner tonight. That is disappointing after all the work I did to make myself presentable for you." Sirius said with that roguish grin still plastered on his face.

"Well if you play your cards right I might just take you out for some dessert." Emily said in a soft sultry voice. Sirius was ready for dinner to be over. Emily grabbed his hand and led him to the kitchen. "You better eat plenty by the way."

The dinner started off quiet but quickly turned into a roaring party. Everyone was having a great time. Merlyn wasn't sure what to think of Sirius. He of course was told about what happened by his brother but still wasn't sure. It didn't take long for him to warm up to Sirius once he started sharing some stories about Hogwarts. Most of the stories seemed to stem around the Marauders and their pranks but he also threw in a couple of James's attempts to woo Lily. By the time the party came to an end it was the wee hours in the morning. The kids had already fallen asleep and were carried up to their room. At the end of the evening Emily took Sirius's arm and led him to the door before telling her friends that she would return him tomorrow.

The next few weeks seemed to fly by for the Ashwoods. John continued teaching the kids potions and magical theory but Sirius started joining in after the first few days. He started actually teaching the kids magic as well as giving them some ideas for pranks. As Sirius loved to play practical jokes almost as much as the kids they soon soared to new heights in pranking. Apparently John had misunderstood a small bit about the trace. Apparently the trace was activated once a witch or wizard was born but all children under the age of eleven were exempt. It didn't change anything but John resolved to be more attentive when reading about the wizarding laws. Who knows when a small thing like this will give him a loophole to exploit. It didn't take long for Sirius to suggest that Harry and Merlyn should go on ahead and get their wands. While it was normally difficult to perform wandless magic Merlyn seemed to be able to do it quite easily and while Harry could do it wandless magic seemed to take a lot out of him. Their trip to Diagon Alley to get the kids wands was a bit of an adventure in itself. When they got to Ollivander's Harry went first and it took him trying almost ever wand in the shop before he found his match. It came as quiet a shock to everyone when Ollivander revealed that the Voldemort's wand shared a core with his. Merlyn took even longer as not a single wand seemed to 'Choose' him as Ollivander put it. In the end Ollivander, who for some reason was overjoyed that not a single wand worked, said that he would have to make Merlyn's from scratch. It took almost an hour for Ollivander to get all the measurements he needed not to mention a small blood sample so that he could find the correct core. He told them to come back in a few days and the wand should be ready. When they returned a few days later they found Ollivander practically bouncing off the walls in anticipation. He didn't even say a word as he held the newly crafted wand out for Merlyn. When Merlyn grasped the wand he felt a tingling sensation running up his arm and engulf his body. The tip of the wand began emitting profound amounts of dense grey smoke. The smoke then began to flow down and surround Merlyn's feet. At this point Ollivander was jumping around in celebration.

"YES! I knew it. I knew it." Ollivander shouted as he ran around Merlyn examining the smoke.

"What is it?" A rather disgruntled John asked. The man gave him the creeps and he didn't really think this sort of reaction from the man could bode well.

"This is incredible! Twelve inch English oak. Fantastic." Ollivander continued on. Sirius noticed that he never said what the core was.

"So what was the core?" Sirius asked a little curious himself.

"Nothing!" Ollivander shouted with glee. "There is no core. Young Merlyn's blood didn't resonate with any known core. Fascinating." Ollivander continued. "I must say this is a first for me." He said finally seeming to regain his composure but only just. "Wands haven't been made out of solid wood in centuries! I am amazed. There is some old blood in you I'd wager." He told a confused Merlyn. John and Sirius were stunned. After they left the shop they figured that it didn't matter as long as it worked and with Ollivander's assurance that this was indeed the wand for Merlyn it seemed to be fine. When they returned home John remembered who Merlyn's vault belonged to. Old magic indeed. John didn't want to say anything until he did a bit more research.

The wands ended up making quite a large impact on the Ashwood family as they made the kids magic flourish. It was so much easier for them to do magic. Sirius started teaching them the first year Hogwarts curriculum. The two boys took to it like water, Sirius attributed their prodigal talent to John's lessons. Over the next year they continued to learn and progress. John had, with help from Sirius, had progressed to NEWT level potions. The two kids of course were still on their level one curriculum. The teaching there went a little slow as they still had their normal classes with Maria. Sirius was now living with Emily and had promptly got their house put on the floo network. Although one would wonder why as both he and Emily had come to practically live at the Ashwood's residence. On Harry's next birthday Sirius had surprised both Harry and Merlyn with their very own brooms. John and Maria were a little hesitant about letting the kids fly around but Sirius said it would be a crime if James and Lily's son wasn't allowed to fly. Sirius had put up a few wards around an acre in their back yard so that the muggles wouldn't see them as well as adding some cushioning charms, just in case. Harry of course was a natural. Merlyn on the other hand was a bit more hesitant to go flying around on a broom. It took some coaxing from Harry but he did eventually give it a try. Merlyn soon fell in love with flying. While he wasn't a natural he was still pretty good for a nine year old. Sirius assured him that with practice he would be just as good as Harry. In fact seeing how much their kids liked to fly it wasn't long afterwards that John, Maria, and Emily each had a broom of their own.

The next two years went by in a flash. It was Harry's eleventh birthday that we find everyone sitting around the living room watching the two little wizards in a mock duel each trying to turn the others clothes pink. As soon as the kids created this little game television soon became a thing of the past. A knock at the door broke their concentration and both failed to dodge the others color changing charm. Maria quickly got up and answered the door. She returned a short while later with a cheerful Minerva on her heels. A loud cry of 'Aunt Minerva' preceded the two eleven year old's tackled her.

"And how are my two favorite young wizards doing today?"

"We're great Aunt Minerva!"

"Well I just stopped by to drop off your Hogwarts letters." She said handing both of them their letters. "Now I expect great things from you at school, understand."

"Yes ma'am." Came their reply.

"How about you Minerva? Are you ready for these two to be unleashed on Hogwarts?" Maria asked with a laugh.

"Oh I think I can handle them." Minerva said with a smile that made Harry and Merlyn shiver. They would have to be very careful when they pulled pranks at school. Especially considering they have yet to get anything by their aunt. "Do the two of you know what houses you want to be in yet?"

Merlyn was the first to answer, "Yep but I don't want to jinx it."

"I don't suppose there is any chance that it is Gryffindor?" Minerva asked and was slightly disappointment when Merlyn shook his head. She never pushed the two but secretly she was hoping that they would end up in her old house. "Well how about you Harry?"

"I just want to be in the same house as Lynn. Besides all the houses sound great. Gryffindor is for the brave, Ravenclaw is for the intelligent, Hufflepuff is for the loyal, and Slytherin is for the cunning." Harry said. John and Maria were looking at Harry with pride.

"Well no matter what houses you two get sorted into we will be extremely proud." John said.

"Well said!" Sirius chimed in. But let out a cough that sounded suspiciously like "Gryffindor". Emily slapped him playfully on the shoulder while everyone else chuckled.

"You know I have never thought to ask before but where do you think we would be placed?" Maria asked Minerva. Everyone became very attentive.

Minerva sat there giving it some thought. She had never thought about this before. Everyone was silent waiting for her answer. After a few minutes Minerva answered, "I think Emily would be in Gryffindor considering her chosen occupation. Maria I would place in either Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. And John, you would most definitely be in Slytherin." Everyone was nodding at her assessment. The evening then progressed into a full blown party. Sirius kept on trying to get Merlyn to give out what house he wanted to go into while dropping not so subtle hints about what he thought about Gryffindor.

At the end of the evening John got everyone gathered in the living room. He pulled out an envelope that had 'To Harry' written on the front. Sirius recognized the letter immediately and became very still, "Son there is something your parents wanted you to have on your eleventh birthday." Everyone became deathly quiet. Everyone in the room save the kids knew what was going to happen. John pulled out an envelope and handed it to Harry. Harry was stunned. Something from his parents. He opened the envelope gingerly and slowly unfolded the letter. By the end of the letter tears were freely falling from most everyone but none more so than Harry.

"Mom, Dad." Harry whispered through the tears. Soon his new mom, dad, and brother had him in a comforting hug.

"Son I want you to know that we love you so much. Just as much as your parents. And we always will." John said soothingly. Those words pushed Harry over the edge and he began sobbing. He knew that his new family loved him. Now he knew his parents did as well. He returned their hug.

After a few minutes the hug broke apart and Harry wiped away his tears. "I love you all to." He said trying to hold back the sobs but couldn't stop a few hiccups from coming out. "And you two mom and dad." He added holding his letter against his chest. He knew his mom and dad were looking down on him from where ever they were and silently promised that he would make them proud.

The next month passed swiftly and soon it was time for Harry and Merlyn to head to Kings Cross. That morning at the Ashwood household was hectic to say the least. Everyone was running around to make sure that everything was ready. Eventually everyone piled into the car. It was rather roomy thanks to Sirius casting an undetectable extension charm in it. The station was packed when they arrived making sure they had plenty of time. They were glad Sirius could make it even though Emily had to be at the office. She said the only way she would retire was if someone would put a ring on her finger. Honestly Maria couldn't understand why Sirius hadn't asked her to marry him yet. They were an amazing couple. Sirius simply said that it wasn't the right time yet. No one understood why he was being so stupid the two obviously loved each other more than life itself. One time John took Sirius aside and asked what the hold up was. Sirius made him swear not to tell anyone but he wanted to spend as much time with Harry without feeling guilty about it. Well, he did feel guilty about not spending all his time with his girlfriend but he would have felt worse if she was his wife. Now that Harry was off to school he figured he better hurry up and get that ring out. He had bought it almost a year ago now. He had never felt this way about any other woman and she was quite the woman, smart, scary, sweet, gentle 'Well, she could be gentle when she wanted to be.' he thought to himself.

Right now Harry and Merlyn were pushing their trolleys through the crowded platform making their way to the wall that leads to platform 9¾. "Hey Harry I'll race you to the platform."

"You're on!" Harry shouted as he took off.

"Hey get back here you cheat!" Merlyn yelled after his brother with a smile on his face. Sirius always said a fair fight was a fight you don't want to be in. He quickly took off after his brother. He was running as fast as he could when his cart hit a bump and turned over with Merlyn tumbling to the ground. Merlyn lay there for a few seconds before sitting up and clutching his knee. Harry, who heard his brother's cart crash, turned around and ran to help him.

"Lynn are you okay?!" Harry asked as he knelt down next to his brother.

"Yea, I guess I should have paid more attention to where I was going." Lynn answered as he got up and put everything back on his cart. "Sorry Kasper." he apologized to his owl who hooted in acceptance. "Come on lets get to the platform." He told his brother as he began pushing his cart toward the hidden entrance.

Once they entered the platform they found their family. "What took you two so long?" Maria asked in concern.

"Well we decided to race and I maybe, kinda, sorta crashed." Merlyn explained to his parents who were now running their eyes all over their son to make sure he was alright.

"Are you okay?" John asked and received a nod from his son. "Well be more careful next time alright." He told his son with a smile to show that he wasn't upset. He was just glad that his son wasn't hurt. His son smiled right back at him and nodded. "Good now I think you two should find a compartment on the train." Harry and Merlyn nodded and hurriedly boarded the train and found an empty compartment.

The two were struggling to lift their trunks into the storage compartment when they saw two tall red heads pass by. Merlyn quickly went to the compartment door and called to them. "Um, excuse me could you help us with our trunks?" Merlyn asked gesturing towards his and his brothers trunks. The two twins, as that is what they had to be, beamed at him.

"Hey look George another ickle firstie. Sure we can help you with that." And with that the two quickly got the two trunks stowed securely.

"Thanks." Harry and Merlyn said together. "I'm Merlyn by the way, Merlyn Ashwood."

"And I'm his brother Harry, Harry Potter." Harry introduced himself after his brother shocking the two twins.

"Wait you're Harry Potter?" The twin on the right asked still a little shocked.

"Yea he is. He even has the scar!" The other twin nearly shouted in excitement. "My apologies you have introduced yourself and here we are just gawking. I'm Fred-"

"Wait I thought I was Fred." The other twin interjected.

"Oh well I guess that would make me his much more handsome brother George." The first twin said.

"Wait a minute I remember now I am George and you are Fred." The second twin bantered back. Causing the two first years to gawk. It wasn't long after that Harry and Merlyn were laughing their asses off.

"Um I don't suppose you could watch our stuff while we say bye to our parents could you? Please." Harry asked trying to fight off the laughter unsuccessfully.

The twins got a real mischievous look between them and then seemed to start conversing with one another. "Well what do you think oh brother of mine?"

"I don't know maybe we-"

"Should just go on-"

"Our way. Okay-"

"You have five-"

"Minutes. Now hurry up-"

"Ickle firsties." At that last one the two first years ran out.

"That was creepy. How did they do that?" Harry asked.

"Magic." Merlyn answered with an unsure shrug. As they ran off to find their parents. It didn't take long to find their parents and dogfather.

"So any trouble pups?" Sirius asked as he saw Harry and Merlyn emerge from the Hogwarts express.

"Nope we got a compartment all to ourselves." Harry answered with a smile as a warning toot came from the express.

"Well it looks like you two better get back on board. I think the train is about ready to set off." Sirius told them as he ruffled their hair.

Maria quickly pulled her children into a tight hug. "Now I want the two of you to look out for each other. And remember we don't care what house you're in or anything like that. We are so proud of both of you and that will never change." A tearful Maria told them as she gave them an extra tight squeeze before letting them go so that John could take her place.

"Now you two remember everything we taught you alright?" He told them getting two nods in response. "I know you are sad that your Auntie Em couldn't be here today but an emergency came up and she wanted me to tell you to give them hell." This caused both of his boys to sprout mischievous grins. "Now, be good, write often, and show everyone just what you two are made of!" John said ending his goodbye with a tight hug for his two boys. "Now get going."

The two managed to make it back to their compartment just as the train started to pull out of the station. The moment that they closed the door their compartment exploded. When the smoke cleared the brothers saw that the entire compartment including themselves were covered in paint. One quick look at their cages and they were very happy they let Kasper and Hedwig fly to Hogwarts.

"Harry!" "Lynn!" The brothers yelled out at the same time. "I didn't do it." came each reply once again at the same time.

"But then" Harry started.

"Who?" Merlyn finished. And that is what let them know exactly who did this.

"Okay. Lynn this is what we do." And they began to plan.

Meanwhile down the hall two identical redheads were clutching their sides in pain from all the laughter. They didn't even notice two first years they pranked walk past them without a single spec of paint on them. It took a while but they were able to regain their composure and head back to their compartment. The instant the doors closed behind them their entire compartment filled with pearl white smoke. Coughing and wheezing The two pranksters quickly opened their compartment door again and got out into the hallway. All the coughing and wheezing had people poking their heads into the hallway to see what all the commotion was. What they found were a pair of clowns gasping for breath, one happy and one sad. At that moment the entire train car started laughing at the galloping gasping clowns.

"That was the funniest thing I have ever seen." Merlyn said as he caught his breath. "I can't wait to see what the other one will do." He said holding up a white egg in his hand. "Unfortunately we have to wait for the feast. Sirius said we could only use that one and that this one had to be broken at the feast.

"I know. I can't wait!" Harry replied. "Well since the compartment is already the colors of the rainbow. Up for a few rounds." Merlyn gave a smile in response as he pulled out his wand.

 **A/N: Well there you have it. For those of you who have read my other story you will have noticed that Dumbledore is not back at Hogwarts and the meeting with Ginny didn't happen this time around. Don't worry Ginny will definitely be a part of this story. Although she probably won't show up until their second year. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

 **Please review and let me know your opinions. I appreciate all reviews good and bad.**

 **Thank you**


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